Analyzing anonymous traffic patterns are arguably one of the least problematic uses of this technology. It's at an order of magnitude less problematic than ordinary traffic or speed cameras at least.
The thing that bugs me more is the obsession with finding and punishing speeders. The average driver is simply responding to their environment, and areas of chronic speeding is symptom of an engineering mistake, not a crime spree.
A lot of speed limits are arbitrary and not evidence-based. And the finances of ticketing give State Troopers perverse incentives to pursue regressive policing.
The way they analyze it is: "Here are the zones where people feel comfortable driving faster — so let's go there and write more tickets!"
The right way to analyze it is: "Here are the zones where people feel comfortable driving faster — do those zones have any more than the background rate of accidents, or less? If more, then how do we redesign the road for better safety and so people tend to drive less fast, or if less or same accidents, we should raise the speed limit"
Nothing based on IMEI->IMSI is in any substantial way 'anonymous'. This obsession with making use of network metadata for tracking purposes by LE needs to bloody stop.
It isn't less problematic. It's as problematic as any type of plugging into these datasets. It's essentially statistical drag netting.
A quick analysis of the data showed law enforcement officers were the fastest driving vehicles on the road and 62% more likely to be on a device while driving. We'll, it doesnt say that but that's what I'd expect to find if I had the data.
This is just gonna result in them being posted up on all the same clear, flat and straight roads they already posted up on when they needed to meet quotas only the taxpayers are gonna be poorer and some data firm is gonna be richer.
The thing that bugs me more is the obsession with finding and punishing speeders. The average driver is simply responding to their environment, and areas of chronic speeding is symptom of an engineering mistake, not a crime spree.
A lot of speed limits are arbitrary and not evidence-based. And the finances of ticketing give State Troopers perverse incentives to pursue regressive policing.