Georgia Police Are Using Drones To Catch Distracted Drivers

Distracted driving is a serious problem all over the place, but one sheriff’s office in Georgia is using drones to bust drivers. It’s an innovative and controversial move we haven’t seen before, but we expect it will start catching on elsewhere.

Missouri is turning to a new method to bust distracted and aggressive drivers.

Not everyone is a huge fan of this move by Bryan County Sheriff’s Office. Drones hover above traffic, monitoring for drivers who are texting or people not wearing their seatbelt. We’ve seen drones used for speed enforcement and tracking down suspects on the run, but not for this.

One of the big concerns is privacy. With a drone up above, people feel like they’re being spied on unfairly, reports WJCL. But when you’re driving around in a car, we’re not sure how much privacy you can honestly expect.

After all, a cop in a patrol car could see inside your windows, as can other drivers. Is a deputy using a drone really all that different?

But with the drone, the lenses can apparently zoom in far enough to read the text messages on someone’s phone they’re holding. You can’t do that even driving next to another vehicle.

However, the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office claims the drone surveillance is legal and that’s why local prosecutors are okay with its use.

This doesn’t really surprise us considering AI cameras that sit on big booms over roadways, also used to nail distracted drivers, have popped up in the US after being used in other countries like Australia.

This doesn’t mean these types of traffic surveillance tools couldn’t one day become outlawed in certain state or even across the country. We can see how that kind of technology could be abused. But for now, it seems this sort of thing will continue, so watch out, the next time you get busted by police it might be from far above.

Image via WJCL