PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Maryland. – Starting Monday, Bowie police will be testing stop sign cameras with artificial intelligence.
We are all familiar with red light cameras and speed cameras – but these specifically collect data about drivers who ignore stop signs.
And next month it will be just a pilot project – no tickets or warnings will be issued.
Reactions on social media were mixed: Some drivers said they were tired of being caught on cameras on the road, but neighbors FOX 5 spoke to said they were glad something like this was coming out.
“It’s been working for the last two days, I’ve noticed that,” said Madeleine Koblin, who lives next to one of the demo sites. Her young children often play in the garden and she says she’s worried about their safety, so the cameras are a welcome sight.
“It’s much safer. Please leave it there!” she added.
The two cameras were installed at stop signs on Kenhill Drive and Belair Drive in Bowie on Monday, the first day of school in Prince George’s County.
While we were out there, FOX 5 witnessed car after car rolling over or ignoring stop signs.
There is a message board that will tell you if it is an “unsafe stop.”
The technology is new and comes from a California-based company called Obvio, which bills itself as “the world’s first AI-powered traffic monitor that automatically detects and prevents traffic violations such as stop sign violations, speeding, tailgating, and more.”
“Last year alone, Maryland had 161 pedestrian fatalities. That number is higher than anywhere else in the country,” said CEO Dhruv Maheshwari. “So our goal is to develop technologies for police departments and municipalities to reduce that number.”
When asked about privacy concerns, Maheshwari said that all data is anonymized and only statistical data is currently collected.
If municipalities issue traffic tickets, this information goes directly to the police departments.
The company has partnered with over a dozen other cities and police departments in Prince George’s County to deploy the stop sign cameras on a demo basis.
Again, right now these are just tests to collect data and see what drivers are doing. Cities are not sending tickets in the mail yet.
This would require the participation of the population and the approval of the Council.
Officials said this was a way to provide police presence without actually having an officer on site as they struggled with staffing issues.
“We’re not looking for revenue, if that’s what people are asking. This project for us is based on what the community has told us, and they’ve said, ‘We have a problem here in these locations,'” said Captain Robert Liberati of the Bowie Police Department.
Maheshwari said their data shows about 400 violations a day, and at some intersections in Prince George’s County, a thousand stop signs are being ignored.
About 20 to 30 percent of those are people who ignore stop signs at 10 miles per hour and do not go through, he added.
Bowie Police are asking all residents for feedback.
