Relax, South Gippsland. Big Brother isn't watching, facial recognition isn't tracking your movements and, as far as we can establish, New Zealand isn't preparing an amphibious landing on the Prom Coast. Those mysterious cameras appearing on roadside signs are doing something considerably less exciting. They're counting cars.
But this being the internet, speculation was inevitable. So Prom Coast News embarked on an investigation, contacting the Department of Transport and Planning and the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Unfortunately, neither appeared to be the right place to ask. Our investigative prowess was looking decidedly shaky.
Then came the breakthrough. Someone photographed a small notice attached to one of the installations. It identified Trans Traffic Survey, a perfectly legitimate Australian traffic data collection company. One telephone call later, mystery solved.
A company representative explained that the devices use cameras and artificial intelligence to count passing vehicles, distinguish between light and heavy traffic and measure movements through intersections. No facial recognition, no number plate tracking and no sinister surveillance operation.
Unlike the old rubber tubes stretched across roads, these devices can count vehicles turning left or right. They're generally operated during peak periods to provide reliable information for traffic planning.
The company is checking who commissioned the local survey, which remains the one outstanding mystery. So there you have it. No international conspiracy, no secret police and no invasion fleet lurking offshore. Just technology doing what someone with a clipboard once did. David Barrett
