The lights have been blinking yellow for a decade or two. I could look out my window and yell it is not a stop for the people stopping for it. Today they made the light actually function and added cameras.
Picture taken out my window.
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like your car’s location, date, and time. They also capture your car’s make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points. These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles—regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime. While these systems can be useful for tracking stolen cars or wanted individuals, they are mostly used to track the movements of innocent people.
Learn more at deflock.me
I actually had a job for a while where I was responsible for the Changeable Message Signs (CMSs) on the freeways. So not quite a traffic reporter, but responsible for giving traffic advice to drivers in real time. You're right, it was a reasonably interesting job.
That said, other than making people aware of multiple-lane-closure wrecks in time to take an alternate route, there isn't much "alleviating" that mere comments can do. The fundamental problem is that too many people are trying to use the roads at once because the system isn't designed to facilitate alternatives to driving. Having some engineer on the TV every day saying "lobby your politicians for more funding for bikes and transit" might be a good thing, but wouldn't exactly be "news."
Well I love that you've at least thought about it.