Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a system capable of communicating with police during traffic stops that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on November 8th, 2022, published on May 9th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0153381.
The Ford Authority Take
Ford has filed quite a few patents in recent months exploring ways to utilize vehicle-to-everything technology, including ideas for a curfew enforcement system, a stranded motorist assistance system, an advanced occupant detection system, and a system providing responder assistance for vehicular events. Now, that list continues to grow with this new patent filing, which outlines an idea for a system centered around “smart negotiations and cooperation.”
With modern, connected vehicles having the ability to communicate with other vehicles and the cloud – as well as store driver/owner information – Ford sees plenty of opportunity for new ideas, and in this case, that means potentially communicating with police. However, these interactions would occur in potentially dangerous situations such as when a police officer is trying to pull someone over at night, when it’s difficult to see and the driver may be worried that the person pulling them over isn’t a police officer – but rather, someone trying to harm, kidnap, or rob them.
Thus, Ford proposes creating a system that would communicate vehicle identification information to police, as well as give law enforcement the ability to send that vehicle a request to communicate. From there, the user’s vehicle would alert them to the request to pull over, eliminating the fear that they may not actually be a real law enforcement officer, as well as making their intentions or infractions clear. It’s an interesting idea for certain, though as is always the case, it’s also unclear if such a system would ever actually come to fruition.
We’ll have more on this and all Ford patents soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford patent news, Ford business news, and comprehensive Ford news coverage.
Comments
The message is “Dissolve unnecessary small town/village PD’s with hardly any crime, that exist mostly to fill the coffers. The taxpayers deserve better, and the money can go towards helping veterans, the poor, the hungry and other services in need.”
Great idea! Now we can spend $50k plus for a vehicle that strips us of our privacy and helps us get more tickets!
Great idea till it gets hacked like everything else, and don’t say it can’t happen.
This is a giant 4th Amendment violation waiting to happen. It is bad enough that some police departments use automated license plate readers to scan for people of interest, now they can take that surveillance to a whole new level of Big Brother. The level of data that is collected by automobiles continues to rapidly increase. The vehicle “owners” will never know what data is being transmitted or how it is being used.
American’s lack of data privacy is long overdue for a complete overhaul. Slowly this is getting recognition.
Great, now my car is gonna be a snitch. Whelp, you know what they say: Snitches get stitches!