Proposed: GPS tracking in EVERY car...

[dgridley]

Under the guise of tracking cars for road useage data, new legislation is being proposed which will require a GPS tracking unit in every car...

"A report prepared by a Transportation Department-funded program in Washington state says the GPS bugs must be made "tamper proof" and the vehicle should be disabled if the bugs are disconnected.

"This can be achieved by building in connections to the vehicle ignition circuit so that failure to receive a moving GPS signal after some default period of vehicle operation indicates attempts to defeat the GPS antenna," the report says."

Who else DOESN'T want to see this happen?

http://news.com.com/E-tracking,+coming+to+a+DMV+near+you/2010-1071_3-5980979.html

 

[spy69]

It's good and bad. More bad though. Really takes away your privacy. But on the other side it might stop car thieves from stealing your car.

 

[Zeeble]

It's good and bad. More bad though. Really takes away your privacy. But on the other side it might stop car thieves from stealing your car.

How does it take away your privacy? The only time that any information like this could actually be used would be if you or your car was involved in a criminal investigation. Your wife/husband couldn't just have access to the information to check that you haven't been cheating....

I support this fully as IMO it does far more good than bad. It is also one step closer to a fully automated transpot system in which you simply need to type in yourr destination and you will be taken there. Just think of the the possibilities. This is the first step towards eliminating congestion.

I'm not exactly sure how things work in the USA in terms of privacy rights, however I know that in the UK information like this cannot just simply be used or be accessed.

 

[dgridley]

What I'm worried about is it "used" to be that way.. these days I'm just not too sure, post-Patriot Act. I just see too much room for potential abuse here.

I'm not exactly sure how things work in the USA in terms of privacy rights, however I know that in the UK information like this cannot just simply be used or be accessed.

 

[Zeeble]

What I'm worried about is it "used" to be that way.. these days I'm just not too sure, post-Patriot Act. I just see too much room for potential abuse here.

What exactly does the Patriot Act say and do?

In the UK the Government has just announced a similar system, however not GPS but number plate based. There will be number plate reading systems along certain parts of most roads and a central system which will keep hold of the information for 2 years. This information would only be for crime prevention.