Asda has put a controversial plan to install driver-facing cameras in its delivery vans on hold, the Leeds-headquartered supermarket chain has confirmed. The company had been considering the use of the cameras on the grounds that it would improve driver safety.
Under the plan, cameras would be operational while delivery van engines were running and Asda argued that the technology would better protect drivers by being able to demonstrate that in the event of an accident they were not on a mobile phone.
The Times reported that the technology would include an artificial intelligence “driver distraction system” able to analyse driver movements and give a voice warning if there was a safety concern, such as signs of tiredness.
But the GMB union argued that the technology would amount to a “severe breach of privacy”, with one unnamed Asda driver describing the cameras as an effective “spy in the cab”.
