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194 points rafram | 6 comments | | HN request time: 0.893s | source | bottom

New York City has this cool program that lets anyone report idling commercial vehicles and get a large cut of the fines [1]. It's been in the news recently [2].

I've filed a few reports, and I found the process frustrating and error-prone. The forms are fiddly, there's way too much information that needs to be copied down from the video by hand, you have to use a third-party app to take a timestamped video and a different app to compress it before uploading, and approximately none of it can be done on your phone — the device you probably used to record your video in the first place.

I built Idle Reporter to make filing complaints into a five-minute process that you can do entirely from your phone.

Idle Reporter uses AI to automatically extract all the required information and screenshots from the video and fill out the form for you. It compresses your video, adds the required screenshots, and uploads the whole thing to DEP. All you have to do is log in, give it a final check, and submit.

The AI features cost me money to run, so I put those behind a subscription ($5.99/month, which can pay for itself after a single report). There's a one-week free trial so you can test it out. All the other features — including a fully-featured timestamp camera, which other apps charge for, and an editor for filling out the forms manually and submitting in a single step — will be free forever, as a service to the community.

The app is iOS-only for now — part of this was an exercise in learning SwiftUI in my spare time.

Check it out on the App Store and let me know what you think!

[1]: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/environment/idling-citizens-air...

[2]: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-city-idling-law-report...

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bluescrn ◴[] No.44349017[source]
Milking motorists is very profitable. Stopping more problematic crime, not so much.

So we end up with anarcho-tyranny, where 'real' crime is policed poorly, if at all - but loads of resources and tech are deployed aggressively policing+punishing mostly-law-abiding people for the most minor of infractions.

replies(3): >>44349078 #>>44349119 #>>44358483 #
1. mjmsmith ◴[] No.44349119[source]
This has nothing to do with "milking motorists", whatever that means. (The phrase generally seems to be used by people who are angry that they can't speed and run red lights with impunity).
replies(2): >>44349427 #>>44349491 #
2. ◴[] No.44349427[source]
3. gametorch ◴[] No.44349491[source]
> This has nothing to do with "milking motorists"

Forcing motorists to pay for minor infractions is the entire point of the app.

replies(2): >>44349528 #>>44349550 #
4. bluescrn ◴[] No.44349528[source]
So when actual criminals leave their stolen getaway car idling as they go and loot a store, the owner of the stolen car now gets an extra fully-automated fine with likely no way to appeal it, and the real criminals get away free.
replies(1): >>44349573 #
5. mjmsmith ◴[] No.44349550[source]
The law applies to commercial vehicles. The aggregate effect of commercial vehicles ignoring the law isn't minor. You can find out more by following the links at the top of the page.
6. mjmsmith ◴[] No.44349573{3}[source]
Upvoting this because I needed the laugh.