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Ford Testing a New 'Traffic Monitoring' Device
Poletown writes "The Detroit Free Press put out this article today about a new vehicle based 'traffic monitoring' system that Ford is testing. It will report your speed, the road temperature, whether or not your wipers/headlights are active, and even if you've used your anti-lock brakes. Initially, the system will be tested on Ford-owned and municipal vehicles."
Hey, why not? GM sells cars that do a pretty good job of spying on the driver, and people buy it for this excellent "feature." And to them, it is a feature. It just takes some good marketing spin.
If every single car being made had something like this, then there would be cause for concern. Otherwise, just don't buy the cars that have this if you don't want it. Simple.
You probably shouldn't click this.
I used to do EPA/OSHA type building inspections.
Once I was asked to do some inspection work on a DOT (department of transportation) site, and they had just finished installing (and monitoring) useage of their DOT vehicles.
I was there when the output was generated. The DOT devices monitored how long the vehicles were in motion, how far they traveled, how fast, how long they stopped and using a GPS, where exactly they were at any given time.
The workmen knew nothing of this installation until that point in time.
The moral? The crews weren't doing what they were supposed ot be doing (running about filling potholes) and instead (as found by the GPS) were down at a local bar and grill, drinking it up.
So they were fired.
Sure, they probably deserved it, but should they have been fired in this manner? This device *sounds* like it could be used for *exactly* that.
Something to think about.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
"A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one."
--Henry Ford
Rental car companies use GPS to clock your speed or location and fine you for speeding or leaving the geographic area covered by your contract. Red light cameras dole out tickets (usually through some government contracting company). EZ-Pass toll systems can help track the movements of drivers. The microprocessors in your car can provide data to help determine fault in auto accidents. I won't even get into OnStar. Sheesh, next thing you know, Anheuser-Busch will be tracking your drinking habits - oh wait. Imaging linking those databases.
With a simple identification code in each Ford car, the freedom of movement in the U.S. could become very expensive. To me, it's almost more frightening that so many of these functions (and this data) is in private hands than if it were the government getting it itself.
There will be (actually already is) a flurry of legal wrangling to determine: (1) how the private companies can use this (i.e., when they can disclose or sell it); and (2) under what circumstances the government can get to it and use it.
Supoena!?!? Heck, why bother with all that paperwork?
A Judge told the FEDS to stop listening in to OnStar
Good traffic reports CAN help you. Almost every traffic report given by any radio station are useless, the only exception I've ever heard is for those that live in the DC area that listen to WTOP (they have a listen live link and traffic is on the 8's if you want to here an example. They describe the traffic, what the bailouts are like, what is causing the delay and expected recovery time, the status of the cause (police on scene, sunshine delays, loading the smashed car on the truck, moving pothole repair crew blocking left lane, lights short timing, cars moved off to the median, rubbernecking etc...), references to previous days like worse or better or simply volume delays. Their reports are very detailed and not just telling you that interstate whatever is backed up to exit whatever. They have a very detailed picture of what is and was going on in the DC area and they describe it very well to the listeners.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
If you drive a late model auto, chances your vehicle already includes some kind of rudimentary "black box." Already, these black boxes have been used in court in various car-accident related cases. Here's an article that has a brief summary of what the current incarnations of these devices record. Here's another one that discusses why the current models aren't reliable enough to be the sole source of evidence in a case.
Hey, I like safety technology too... But there definitely has to be a privacy wall built-in, since marrying a GPS device to it (which is already coming... Googling for "automobile black box" brings up two or three companies whose business model is based on adding GPS functionality) would make the data extremely interesting to marketing people, police agencies, and other nefarious types.
Who did what now?