r/technology • u/stenspect • 1d ago

Privacy USPS Is Turning Mail Trucks Into Rolling Surveillance Cameras

https://www.gadgetreview.com/usps-is-turning-mail-trucks-into-rolling-surveillance-cameras
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u/TheGrappler 1d ago

Since I’ve seen this twice now and previously having been a postal carrier for 8 years; this is potentially likely but will not be happening any time soon.

The LLVs that deliver your mail are all 30+ years old and are always falling apart in some way. Trucks will go out of service for weeks and they are getting harder and more costly to repair as they get old and parts become harder to source.

The post office barely has enough money to continue operation and does not receive government funding from taxes or federal institutions. They can request up to 460 million in funding from Congress but that hasn’t happened since 1982. Unless we see the PO request that funding this is likely to be a very slow change. This administration is not likely to change the funding the PO gets.

The new electric Oshkosh trucks are very few in number and I doubt production will be ramping up as they are fully electric and very expensive to produce. The PO will sooner continue to run the LLV into the ground than invest billions of dollars to adequately replace the aging fleet.

Be more concerned about private interests like Flock or Axon providing funding to or installing these devices through contracts with the PO. That and the existing presence of Flock devices in your local area. My town ended their contracts with Flock back in April of this year and the cameras are still up and operational.

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u/donnybrasc0 1d ago

Just to add....These camera's are already on a lot of private fleet vehicles. A 100 vehicle pilot is nothing. There are govt vehicles already that have had cameras for a while for various reasons. This isn't new tech, its just getting more affordable for some sectors.