Asda temporarily halts plan for driver-facing 'spy' cameras in home delivery vans

Yorkshire Post

Asda has put a controversial plan to install driver-facing cameras in its delivery vans on hold, the Leeds-headquartered supermarket chain has confirmed. The company had been considering the use of the cameras on the grounds that it would improve driver safety.  Under the plan, cameras would be operational while delivery van engines were running and Asda argued that the technology would better protect drivers by being able to demonstrate that in the event of an accident they were not on a mobile phone.  The Times reported that the technology would include an artificial intelligence “driver distraction system” able to analyse driver movements and give a voice warning if there was a safety concern, such as signs of tiredness.  But the GMB union argued that the technology would amount to a “severe breach of privacy”, with one unnamed Asda driver describing the cameras as an effective “spy in the cab”.  Read more: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business

Transcript

00:00How would you feel about being filmed driving by your company?

00:03That's something that Asda had been considering. They've been looking into the idea

00:09of bringing in driver-facing cameras in their delivery vans. The argument was that it would

00:14help the drivers protect them in the case of an accident by proving they weren't on a mobile phone

00:19and also the AI technology would be used to provide an audio warning if they were showing

00:25signs of tiredness and telling them to take a break. The idea got pretty short shrift from the

00:31GMB union who said it was a severe invasion of privacy and one driver said it would be like

00:37having a spy in their cab. Asda has put a temporary halt to the idea and they say that was independent

00:45of what the union's feedback has been. The idea hasn't gone away though it's something they could

00:49come back to in future so interested to hear what people think is this a good idea or does it go

00:55too far.

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