South China Morning Post stated that bus drivers in Beijing were recently issued wristbands that will track their moods, a move that has some experts concerned. According to China Daily, 1,800 drivers received the electronic bands in an effort to boost safety in the face of the nation’s high accident rate, especially those driving on lengthy routes and roads.
Drivers are provided with equipment that can track their vital indicators, as well as their anxiety and sleep. They may send data collected from them to a command centre, where public transportation officials can see it in real-time. According to Wu Ruidong, a news analyst, ‘The emotion-sensing equipment is part of attempts to improve driving safety, which indicates compassion for drivers. Beijing has set a wonderful example for the rest of China by utilising science and technology to maintain public road safety’.
Legal authorities are concerned that the surveillance may discriminate against drivers and stress them out. Though the move to monitor drivers was motivated by concerns about public safety, a cybersecurity expert, Wang Congwei, questioned whether authorities really needed to gather so much data on individual health. Indicated by SCMP.
In addition, they questioned whether or not authorities would be able to act quickly in the event of anomalies. Wang said, ‘Really, the data can only be applied later for accident analysis’. It is important to evaluate how dependable the technologies are, according to a professor in Hong Kong. The bracelets were put in place in response to a bus accident that claimed the lives of 27 people earlier this month as they were travelling to a quarantine facility in Guiyang.
Post Your Comments