GREENE COUNTY — Flock Safety is under review over the installation of a camera pole in Greene County, Ohio, that lacks required safety features and sits close to the roadway. The dispute involves tensions between the company's national expansion and federal standards for roadside hardware.

A Flock Safety automated license plate reader camera is installed on a black metal rod at the bottom of a tree-lined hill on a narrow, two-lane rural road in Greene County, Ohio. The pole is painted black and has a solar panel attached at the top. It is placed about two feet from the edge of the asphalt road and lacks a breakaway plate.

The Ohio Department of Transportation states that on uncurbed facilities, license plate readers must be at least 8 feet from the nearest edge of a travel lane. David Rose of the Ohio Department of Transportation stated that permits are required when working within ODOT’s right-of-way, including for the installation of license plate reader cameras. Rose stated that state authorities are not involved in the installation of automated license plate readers, even when located on the state’s right-of-way. He stated that all work performed within corporation limits must be approved through the appropriate city or village, as ODOT does not have jurisdiction within corporation limits.

The Beavercreek Police Department states that Flock is responsible for all installations and that all cameras in its jurisdiction received appropriate approval. Automated license plate readers record license plate details as well as the make, model, color, and other notable features of a vehicle. Flock Safety states its cameras capture tens of billions of data points a month, and according to reports, the company performs over 20 billion scans of vehicles in the U.S. every month.

Steve Eimers, a Tennessee-based roadside safety advocate known online as the Guardrail Guy, argued that the installations fail to meet crashworthy standards. His 17-year-old daughter died after the vehicle she was traveling in crashed into a roadside structure on Interstate 75 approximately ten years ago. "There are a billion different people looking into the top part of the cameras [but] nobody’s been looking at the bottom, and the crashworthy elements," Eimers said.

He stated he has found only one Flock pole, located in Erie County, Ohio, installed with the required breakaway plate. He stated that the breakaway plate on the Erie County Flock pole was positioned higher off the ground than Federal Highway Administration permits allow.

"The guardrail had to go through a heavy vetting process – they had to do a whole series of crash tests, they had to submit the crash test results in full with photos [which] are reviewed by state [department of transportation] engineers," Eimers said. "Flock is not a sophisticated user of roadside safety hardware. They are nowhere near doing what they are supposed to be, what should be done." The Federal Highway Administration established a standard requiring all roadside sign supports in the clear zone to be breakaway, yielding, or shielded by a barrier or crash cushion. In 2024, crashes between a motor vehicle and a fixed barrier accounted for 26% of vehicle deaths nationwide, according to the National Safety Council.

Paris Lewbel, a Flock Safety spokesperson, denied that the company regularly violates safety requirements. "We do not agree with the premise that Flock regularly installs poles in violation of federal, state, or local safety requirements," Lewbel said. She stated that the appropriate pole type and installation specifications depend on the roadway, speed, location, jurisdiction, and requirements of the relevant transportation or permitting authority.

She stated that customers generally determine camera locations based on their public safety priorities and Flock then works with the customer. She stated that Flock Safety planned to undergo a review of camera pole installations across its network.

Flock Safety has an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 cameras deployed in more than 6,000 communities across the U.S. As of 2025, Flock Safety says that it operates in over 5,000 communities across 49 U.S. states. The company also says it has 120,000 automated license plate reader and pan, tilt, and zoom cameras deployed throughout the U.S. City governments have deactivated cameras or canceled contracts with Flock in Fort Collins, Colorado; Eugene, Oregon; Madison, Wisconsin; Knoxville, Tennessee; Syracuse, New York; and Walla Walla, Washington. Police officers have been caught using the Flock system to stalk ex-partners and colleagues.

In El Cerrito, California, the El Cerrito Police Department stated that Flock confirmed the cameras are not generating or capturing images and have not been doing so since the agreement expired on June 6. The department stated that Flock has work orders to remove the cameras between July 30 and Aug. 18.

Why It Matters

With up to 120,000 cameras deployed across more than 6,000 communities, non-compliant installations could expose widespread roadside hazards given that crashes into fixed barriers accounted for 26% of vehicle deaths in 2024. Federal standards mandate breakaway supports in clear zones, yet advocates report finding only one pole with such a plate among thousands examined. The dispute shows a gap between rapid surveillance expansion and established crashworthiness vetting processes required for other roadside hardware.