Springwise: “As much as local authorities try to, they aren’t able to stop every single civic infraction because they only have a limited number of eyes on the street. However, smartphones have already enabled councils to crowdsource details of law breaches, through apps such as Parking Mobility that let users log when a driver is using a disabled parking bay without a licence. Now the ikflitsmee campaign in Belgium has encouraged citizens to send in locations where they believe speeding is a problem in order for the police to invest in safety measures.
Open until April 10, anyone could log onto the ikflitsmee website to nominate locations such as schools, playgrounds or sharp turns in the road where speeding is a particular problem. The initiative spanned the whole country, involving both local and Federal police forces. After receiving more than 50,000 suggestions, those forces were then invited to check the pinned locations near to them to see if a speed camera would be a feasible solution. The website gets residents to flag up the areas they know to be dangerous and helps authorities by creating an instant data resource to plan future audits.
By asking residents to show them where potential speeders are, local authorities can curb accidents and deliver more fines to culprits, boosting their revenue. At the same time, citizens feel empowered and involved in the improvement of road safety in the country. Are there other ways to tap citizens’ smartphones for more rapid gathering of data that can help councils improve their service to the community?
Website: www.ikflitsmee.be”
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