DRIVERS are facing a surprising $100 fine if artificial intelligence catches them breaking road laws.
Sacramento, California, residents now must watch out for cops and AI-powered cameras.
Sacramento Regional TransitSacramento Regional Transit buses will be implementing new AI-powered cameras[/caption] GettyDrivers can face up to $100 fines for violating traffic laws[/caption]A new program agreed upon between the city and the Sacramento Regional Transit District will implement Hayden AI-powered cameras on buses to catch vehicles driving in the bus lanes.
The fine is meant to help keep drivers safe and protect bus stops.
“Keeping bus stops clear is critical to ensuring the safety and accessibility of our transit system,” SacRT General Manager and CEO Henry Li told the Sacramento Bee.
“This program is a significant step forward in creating a safer, more reliable experience for our riders and bus operators while promoting sustainable and efficient public transit.”
A spokesperson for the SacRT said the new fine will also help disabled passengers wanting to ride the bus.
“[Bus drivers] report back to dispatch if they can’t pick up a passenger because they couldn’t pull up to the bus stop, and maybe that passenger was in a mobility device meaning the ramp had to be deployed,” SacRT spokesperson Jessica Gonzales told local Fox affiliate KTXL.
“And if you can’t pull up to the curb, that ramp can’t be deployed. That passenger is a pass-up.”
AI-powered cameras were implemented in Sacramento buses towards the end of December 2024 but were put into full effect on February 18.
Since December, around 2,800 warnings have been issued.
Videos, photos, and location data are all forms of evidence the cameras will collect and then send to the city before the driver receives a citation.
While the cameras only detect violators in the bus lane, it will soon detect those who are driving in bike lanes, too.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
Although Sacramento’s new cameras are meant to help the city, the Hayden AI-powered cameras caused a major headache for the New York City Metro Transit Authority (MTA) back in November 2024.
Over 4,000 tickets were mistakenly issued due to an error with the cameras, local NBC affiliate WNBC reported.
New York’s MTA buses are equipped with AI-powered cameras on the windshield meant to catch traffic violators.
The city entered into an $83 million contract with the AI company to help monitor drivers.
However, MTA told WNBC that the cameras “had not been programmed to know they shouldn’t issue violations to vehicles parked in the legal alternate side zones that periodically interrupt the M79 lane.”
Are you covered by law to park on a public street?
Parking on a public street is generally legal, even in front of someone's house, experts say.
Unless the home is in an HOA subdivision, an apartment complex with assigned spaces, or there are posted laws against parking during certain days or hours, it is not illegal to park a vehicle in front of someone’s home on a public street.
“Generally speaking, an individual citizen does not ‘own’ or have any ongoing exclusive right to use a parking space on a public street,” wrote Nolo Legal.
“These spaces are open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.”
Most states do have rules against vehicles being parked in the same spot for 72 hours, or blocking fire hydrants, driveways, and sidewalks, as a parked vehicle in those spaces presents a safety hazard.
Additionally, the cameras didn’t acknowledge that certain bus routes were still in the warning phase of the enforcement process.
“One of the purposes of the warning phase for newly activated routes is to work out any issues before anyone is actually ticketed,” Tim Minton, the MTA’s Communications Director told WNBC.
“In this situation, there were programming kinks, both inthe mapping of curb areas and the timing of warnings themselves — all of which have now been resolved.”
As of November 2024, the MTA confirmed all of the mistaken violations have been fixed and refunded.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Drivers risk automatic $100 fines under February 18 law – and you won’t know about ticket until ‘proof’ shows up in mail )
Also on site :