In the days where we can talk across the world in a matter of miliseconds, why can't we make the interaction at routine traffic stop easier?
In light of tragedies of police shootings, it is deplorable for the tech community to not think about simple, cheap solution to the interactions between citizen and police. It should be easy to exchange information with cops from safe distance about driving licence, vehicle registration, audio/video inside the car if permitted by driver, insurance information etc.
Please don't stop because it can't be monetized easily. May be municipalities would pay per transaction to get information remotely or drivers insurance would pay for the each safe exchange. I am sure insurance companies, citizens themselves and municipalities are interested in making routine traffic stop safe.
Why don't they use $500 Phantom drone to ask for identification and look inside the car?
It's cheap and it would keep police, individual person serving as a cop, out of harms way on first interaction. It would give everybody a chance to breathe and take it easy. The cops could have a clear vision of the vehicle's interior much better than they can get through their own eyes. No risk of officer getting physically harmed. If the risk of officer getting harmed is removed then routine traffic stops would again turn routine instead of posing a risk of the citizen being shot down just because office considered an act by the citizen as threatening.
The drone can record audio/video of interaction. The drone can carry out certain tasks by itself like reading rights. The drone can act as two way communication between the people in the vehicle and the officer in the police car that stays back at a safe distance. It can drop a walkie talkie in the car or just extend a microphone inside the car for them to talk to one another. It can quickly scan the driver's license, registration and insurance information back to the police car. It can match the driver's license with the face of the driver. It can drop handcuffs inside the car and verify visually that citizen did put the handcuffs on the hands. It can give instructions to the citizen about laying on the floor in a non threatening manner before the police comes near. It can metal-scan the citizen for presence of firearms or knife before the police comes near. It can phone the responsible person for the citizen, wife, mother, father, husband, siblings or friend who can talk to the citizen as the citizen goes through the more tougher part of arrests.
The drone can be parked behind the lights on top the car and charged when not in use. It would know to phone home with its location. It would know how to fly back to the top of the car, park itself and lock itself to the car.
Attacking the police drone would be considered attack on the cops, drone being extension of the cop. It would be punishable crime to attack the police drone.
This can be done. Nothing said above is outside the realm of existing technology.
Google, Phantom - please do this. $1000 per police car in America is not a lot of expense. It would make lives better for citizens and safer for policemen.
Why not have a bluetooth device, inside citizen's car, with your registration, identification, insurance, medical, information that cops can request access to from their car. The cops can then remotely pull information from this device in your car from safety of their car. The bluetooth device could have a camera that cops can request access to and see audio/video inside the car. This will be much much cheaper option. Bluetooth 4.0 LE is easily within reach on safely parked cop car. Car manufacturers can build this, it can be after market addition. $40 device per car can make things a whole lot smooth and safe at routine stops.
In light of tragedies of police shootings, it is deplorable for the tech community to not think about simple, cheap solution to the interactions between citizen and police. It should be easy to exchange information with cops from safe distance about driving licence, vehicle registration, audio/video inside the car if permitted by driver, insurance information etc.
Please don't stop because it can't be monetized easily. May be municipalities would pay per transaction to get information remotely or drivers insurance would pay for the each safe exchange. I am sure insurance companies, citizens themselves and municipalities are interested in making routine traffic stop safe.
Can we do this please?