USPS Tests Cameras in Mail Trucks That Scan Roads and Signs

The United States Postal Service is running a pilot program that puts cameras on the dashboards of its mail carrier trucks, where they will continuously scan roads and signs and map roadways and sidewalks, according to a letter posted by a labor union and a statement the agency gave to 404 Media. The stated aim is to improve "community safety."

What the cameras do

The letter, written by USPS Labor Relations to Brian Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, says the agency will partner with Next Base, a dashcam company, for the pilot. The cameras will be installed on a hundred vehicles in the Washington, DC area. According to the letter, they are forward-facing, mounted inside the trucks, and start recording as soon as the vehicle is in drive and away from the postal facility. The letter adds that they "will not hinder the vehicle operator's field of vision, nor does it record audio."

Next Base sells dash cams to ordinary drivers, fleet operators and ride-share drivers. Its website says the cameras record in up to 4K and can capture every license plate with precision, 404 Media reported. The cameras do not run automatic license plate reader (ALPR) software during the pilot.

The "community safety" argument

"The purpose of this pilot is to leverage the Postal Service's unique ability to collect this valuable data due to the scale and frequency with which our fleet of postal vehicles travel the streets of every community across the country," the letter reads. The logic is that the trucks are on the road constantly anyway, so gathering data this way costs less than running a dedicated survey fleet. The letter hints the program could eventually spread nationwide.

A USPS spokesperson told 404 Media: "The Postal Service is conducting a limited pilot to assess whether vehicle-mounted cameras can help identify roadway conditions and support community safety. The pilot includes privacy safeguards and requires no additional action from employees. Findings will inform any future decisions."

What is still unknown

The pilot was slated to start on September 21 and is expected to last several months. The letter does not say who will hold the footage, how long it will be kept, or whether the imagery of roads and signs will be shared with other agencies: the same questions that surround the fast-expanding ALPR camera networks used by police departments across the United States. Next Base's own marketing stresses that its cameras read license plates precisely, even though the pilot does not run plate-reading software.

USPS vehicles already carry 360-degree cameras that capture the outside of the truck for a period of time, 404 Media noted. The union posted the letter to Facebook, which is how the program became public.