Does Privacy Affect Public Safety?

March 1, 2021

There’s an ongoing debate between the U.S. and Canada surrounding privacy in rail.

The U.S. weighs the public good a little more strongly over privacy than in Canada. The U.S. allows the recording of video in the cab but, without the ability to record audio, is subject to restrictions. In Canada the reverse is true, allowing for audio recording but having more restrictions around video.

This is a highly debated topic, and the ultimate question is: how do we balance public safety and privacy?

There’s a tradeoff either way. Let me put it this way: when you are walking on the street, do you expect privacy? Of course not. You don’t have an expectation of privacy, and that increases public safety.

How would you feel if there was a camera on a school bus? I would feel safer for my kids if this were true. The risk for public safety is high on a locomotive.

In my opinion, I think allowing video in the cab is more impactful to maintain public safety.

Wi-Tronix, LLC is innovating to maximize public safety while respecting individual privacy.

At Wi-Tronix, LLC our goal is always to improve the safety and reliability of operations, and when we created our software we focused on collecting video to increase public safety.

Originally posted by Larry Jordan on LinkedIn – 2/23/2021