The Appeal inbox just got hit with a press release from Muni that seems to be about some new Muni camera system that they say should improve safety. However, reading it left us with more questions than answers. Rather than wait and wait and wait (we’re still waiting on Muni video from April, we’ve been waiting on questions about Muni’s passenger communication standards since August, and we were told they’d be able to get a question from today answered for us “in a few weeks”) for Muni to agree to answer our questions about this release, we’ve decided to ask them here — and we hope you’ll join us! Here’s the release, with our questions below. What are yours (please keep them focused on this release — we’ll do open season on Muni questions later this week, stay tuned!)?
SFMTA Implements DriveCam System to Improve Muni Safety
San Francisco–The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates the Municipal Railway (Muni), today announced that it has installed and activated DriveCam, a driver risk mitigation system, in all of its trolley, biodiesel and biodiesel-electric hybrid buses, to help improve safety on the transit system.
“This state-of-the-art system is an important new tool to improve the safe operation of Muni vehicles,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA Executive Director/CEO. “The activation of DriveCam represents a continuation of the ongoing commitment to the safe and reliable operation of Muni.”
The DriveCam system uses interior and exterior cameras to record collisions and other unsafe driving behavior. The cameras record and download a few seconds of footage before and after an incident when the vehicle experiences an exceptional force, such as hard breaking or swerving. These recordings will be used for safety investigations and Operator instruction.
The SFMTA will use DriveCam as a tool to improve driving behavior, assess liability from collisions and reduce expenses incurred from such incidents that can include vehicle damage, worker’s compensation and personal injury.
“Operators who engage in unsafe behavior must be trained or disciplined,” said James Dougherty, SFMTA Director of Safety, Security and Enforcement. “DriveCam will serve as a vital component of our training system.”
The $1.2 million contract covers the installation of the equipment and a one-year subscription to the DriveCam service which includes technical support analysis.
So, here are our questions:
— Since we’re all about open government now, in what format are DriveCam results going to be released to the public?
— Since we’re all about open government now, in what format will DriveCam footage be released to the public?
— How long will the footage be retained before it’s deleted?
— The MTA says “The cameras record and download a few seconds of footage before and after an incident.” How does the camera tell the future?
— When Dougherty says “Operators who engage in unsafe behavior must be trained or disciplined,” how will they be disciplined? How are drivers disciplined now?
— How were you able to get these cameras all installed when you haven’t been able to install working cameras in over half our transit fleet?
— Wouldn’t the current cameras do this already, that is, capture footage before and after an accident, as well as all other times)?
— Is this system intended to replace the other cameras on the buses, like the half that do work, and the double parking cameras? (This seems like a lot of fucking cameras for one bus, doesn’t it?)
— How will they ensure that these cameras are actually working?
— How much money has been budgeted to maintain the cameras? If they break, will they be fixed, or just stay broken like this ticket machine?
— What happens when the $1.2 million 1-year subscription runs out?
— How much “technical support analysis” does that subscription include?
Those questions are just off the top of our heads — how about you? If you find this release as perplexing as we do, ask your questions about it in the comments. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll get an answer. Muni, don’t make us go out and get a lawyer, now.
