(WSVN) - Bluetooth gives us the convenience of connecting wirelessly on our phones while we’re in the car, but you may be surprised to learn that same radio wave technology also allows the government to track us while we drive. 7’s Brian Entin explains in our special assignment report “Traffic Trackers.”
Eyes in the sky are high above South Florida streets. Some catch red light runners, others monitor traffic flow. But cameras are not the only things capturing our movements.
Melissa Ackert, Florida Department of Transportation: “So right here, you’ll see a tiny little icon. That’s where one is.”
One of 72 Bluetooth signal readers up and running across Broward County. Our Bluetooth-enabled cellphones are detected by the readers as we drive by them. The boxes then transmit our location and the time back to the Florida Department of Transportation Command Center.
Melissa Ackert: “It’s one of the ways we measure travel time and speeds within our local street network.”
The boxes are perched above busy major roads like U.S. 441. The data collected shows how long it takes cars to pass between two readers.
Melissa Ackert: “Here — you see a red line here — he’s probably going to pull this up on a camera and see what’s happening there.”
FDOT says it helps experts determine whether delays are a result of normal, heavy traffic, a crash or an issue with the timing of a light.
Brian Entin: “So when you see these trends based on the Bluetooth devices, you can actually call Broward County and they will change the traffic light?”
Melissa Ackert: “Correct, and 95 percent of the time, if we make that recommendation, they do make a change.”
Brian Entin: “So you can make traffic move more smoothly that quickly?”
Melissa Ackert: “Yes.”
The information is also relayed back to drivers on digital signs.
Melissa Ackert: “It gives them travel time in real time. So, if you see here, you’ll see it says six miles, 18 to 19 minutes. That’s coming from one of these Bluetooth readers.”
Of course, the idea of the state tracking our movements to ease traffic is unlikely to ease privacy concerns.
On the street, a mix of skepticism and acceptance.
Brittany Johnson, driver: “It sounds like data collection, Big Brother stuff, and you don’t consent to it.”
Andy Connell, driver: “Anything that can help reduce traffic flow and traffic, I’m for. Traffic is brutal in South Florida.”
Officials say the data does not reveal who the phone belongs to or who is behind the wheel.
Melissa Ackert: “That’s not even something we are interested in. We’re only interested in travel time and speed.”
Jeremy Serres, driver: “What’s most important is just at least having that information relayed to the people so we can just make a choice as to whether or not we want that type of invasiveness. You know, it should be optional.”
Drivers do have the option to deactivate a device’s Bluetooth, but since many of us use our smartphones to connect hands-free in our cars, that might not be practical. So, the traffic trackers track on.
Lourdes Clerge, driver: “I guess it’s going to be a matter of — in the long run — will it really be beneficial, knowing that information about traffic patterns? There’s always going to be traffic. We live in South Florida.”
The Bluetooth readers are running in Broward. As for Miami-Dade, transportation officials have started testing the technology on just a few streets, but no determination has been made on whether to roll out the program countywide.
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