How officials in Panama City are being cyberstalked by their own potholes

A TV programme in Panama has taken it upon itself to add devices to the city’s potholes that notify public officials every time they are driven over.

The "Tweeting Pothole" project sends automatic messages to the official Twitter account of Panama City’s Ministry of Public Works via motion-sensitive devices from the city’s streets.

A map has also been introduced, highlighting which areas of the city pose the greatest threats to car suspensions.

The project was created in collaboration with advertising agency P4 Ogilvy & Mather, which recently used DNA to create posters that publicly shamed litterbugs in Hong Kong.

A video about the project stated: "It would seem that in the rush to build a modern city, Panama forgot to take care of its existing streets, creating the contradiction of modern buildings and damaged streets.  

"With this initiative we point out the hassle drivers suffer every day – directly to those responsible."

Ramón Arosemena, the minister of public works, commented: "The gaps are the result of years of neglect and poor practice in construction."

Since the introduction of the project some of the potholes have mysteriously disappeared …

Image: A motion-sensitive device that was placed inside Panama City’s potholes