Chinese motorist fined for scratching his face whilst driving

Occurred: May 2019

A Chinese motorist received a fine after a traffic camera misinterpreted his action of scratching his face as using a mobile phone while driving, prompting anger and ridicule.

What happened

A driver in Jinan, Shandong Province, was captured by an automated surveillance camera while he scratched his face. 

The camera's AI mistakenly identified the gesture as holding a phone to his ear, leading to a notification of a traffic violation, which included a fine of 50 yuan (approximately USD 7.25) and two points deducted from his driving license. 

Having had his complaint rejected by the city's traffic department, the driver shared the incident on social media, resulting in a wave of sympathy.

Why it happened

The Jinan traffic department later canceled the ticket, explaining that the traffic surveillance system automatically identifies a driver's motion and then takes a photo, mistaking the man's face scratching for talking on a phone while driving.

What it means

The incident highlights broader concerns regarding privacy and the implications of widespread AI surveillance in China, especially given the country's ongoing development of a social credit system - which uses data from such cameras as well as from multiple other sources.

Public reaction was highly critical, with many questioning the lack of privacy for citizens under constant surveillance for even the slightest behavioural deviation and the real potential for misinterpretation by automated systems.

Social credit system

The Social Credit System (Chinese: 社会信用体系; pinyin: shèhuì xìnyòng tǐxì) is a national credit rating and blacklist being developed by the government of China.

Source: Wikipedia 🔗

System 🤖

Operator: 
Developer:  
Country: China
Sector: Govt - municipal
Purpose: Detect driving offences
Technology: Computer vision; Machine learning
Issue: Accountability; Accuracy/reliability; Fairness; Transparency

Page info
Type: Incident
Published: January 2025