Let’s not mince words: The string of interstate shootings in 2022 in metro Atlanta is alarming. As crime continues its swell, the idea of getting hit in random roadway crossfire is arguably more unnerving than the threat of a burglary or other kinds of shooting.
As much as traffic makes people groan, our cars can be our sanctuary and wall us off from confrontation. A random, harmful, likely unprovoked intrusion into that steel vault is almost unimaginable. But breaches have happened often lately.
Interstate shootings have killed or injured people recently on I-285/northbound at I-20 in DeKalb on February 17th, I-75/northbound near Wade Green in Cobb on February 16th and I-285/southbound near Highway 78 in DeKalb on February 1st.
These are just a few.
A stray bullet stuck and killed a six-month-old in Northwest Atlanta on January 24th, as it entered through the back of the car during crossfire between people in other cars. A road rage shooting struck a mother in the back off of Northside Drive on February 1st. She survived.
A female driver’s thick clothing saved her life, after a stray bullet entered the back of her car and struck her on I-285 near Highway 166 in Southwest Atlanta. The bullet miraculously wedged between her shirt and skin, only leaving a mark. She had no idea where it came from.
One reason that these shootings may happen more often is because more people are realizing they can get away with it. That raises the question: How? Freeways are lined with cameras; why hasn’t that thousands-deep network led to more arrests?
“Those are DOT cameras and they don’t record for various reasons,” Cobb PD Sgt. Wayne Delk told 95.5 WSB after the I-75-Wade Green shooting. “A lot of it has to do with storage space and the cost of storing it and the cost of retrieving that information when it is needed. But we [Cobb PD] don’t have any cameras on the interstate system.”
The notion of traffic cameras not being used for law enforcement isn’t just a state policy, Delk said. He noted that Cobb DOT’s traffic cameras on the county’s roads are not constantly recording either. “That’s an issue that’s being looked into not only in our agency, but other law enforcement agencies, when it comes to criminal activity.”
GDOT spokesperson Natalie Dale echoed Delk’s sentiments about the state’s vast traffic camera system. The live, streaming cameras that the public can view on 511ga.org are readily available at any moment. But logging that live footage would be daunting.
Dale said that the cost for server space would be in the “millions of dollars” and that manning those servers and fulfilling open records requests for anything from violent crimes to minor traffic crashes would require a full-time staff. Considering how much the state scrambles to fund road expansion and maintenance to keep up with the region’s growing population, “The cost to log and maintain the server space is not a budget item,” Dale said.
Gwinnett PD Cpl. Ryan Winderweedle said that the police cannot just log in to the state’s cameras and start recording them. But departments have other tools at the ready.
Gwinnett PD has a less-direct path in enforcing the law with cameras. Gwinnett uses Flock Safety, a network of wireless cameras that snaps license plates. This system is very useful in finding where and when there are vehicles around certain crimes, but it does not record a full live stream of any one environment. That means these cams do not need giant server space.
Cpl. Winderweedle said that another large part of the video his department uses is from businesses and private citizens that are willing to share security cam or smart doorbell footage. But these are also fixed cameras, meaning that there are plenty of blind spots around them in which crimes could happen.
Each agency works differently. Sandy Springs Sgt. Salvador Ortega says his department actually does record from traffic cams and stores the footage 24/7, which “Not only help[s] with crime prevention, but also to help with traffic management,” he said. But providing that infrastructure for a city is less costly than doing so for a county or state.
Even if the state were to staff up and budget for the recording of traffic cams, blind spots would still be a concern, Dale said. Cameras are only as effective as the directions they are pointed. So those inadequacies could potentially erode the worth of the tremendous cost in staffing and hardware for recording them.
There is also the issue of privacy and the Orwellian idea of “Big Brother” watching citizens’ moves in real time. Cpl. Winderweedle noted how 24/7 surveillance is far more common in London, but the average American’s idea of independence and privacy has made such networks less common here.
But Sgt. Delk did say his Cobb PD and other departments are exploring better ways to use readily available live footage. What that looks like isn’t known for now. But will the public’s uneasiness around this harrowing string of shootings force the government to pony up and invest in recording these traffic cameras? Maybe. But a better question is, if they were recorded, would police be able to catch shooters and would that deter future ones? The jury is out on that one.
Doug Turnbull, the PM drive Skycopter anchor for Triple Team Traffic on 95.5 WSB, is the Gridlock Guy. He also hosts a traffic podcast with Smilin’ Mark McKay on wsbradio.com. Contact him at Doug.Turnbull@cmg.com.
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