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California Wants GPS Tracking Device in Every Car
HTS Member writes "California has a new excuse for more taxes. Claiming losses due to fuel-efficient cars, such as Gasoline/Electric Hybrids, California is cooking-up a new system to punish people who aren't using enough gasoline. They want to tax commuters by the mile. How would this be accomplished? By requiring everyone to install a GPS device in their vehicle, and charge them their "taxes" every time they fuel-up. From the article: 'Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's as simple as that.. [a] team at Oregon State University equipped a test car with a global positioning device to keep track of its mileage. Eventually, every car would need one.'"
It is actually the USA PATRIOT Act, which is an acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism".
Just fit one of these above the antenna. You can fake any journey or lack thereof that you choose.
Evil people are out to get you.
I'm confused as to how you track people with a GPS device. GPS is _passive_. All GPS satellites do is emit a signal. They can't track anyone - the Pentagon has zero idea of how many people are using GPS at any particular time, let alone who they are.
The state could conceivably rig the _device_ to remember where you were, which is a problem, but properly designed, the state could simply have it remember mileage. GPS is very good at determing velocity (and acceleration).
Additionally, if this was a self-reporting tax (ie, show the number on the LCD to the tax man), potential for abuse would also be minimized.
This is not to say CA's idea is a good one, but I get annoyed when people see "GPS" and assume that means they are being tracked.
-Erwos
Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
It was a trial balloon floated last year, and it was hit by about seven million rounds of heavy ordinance from a unusually bipartisan array of sources. Rights groups stated flat out that they would have it tied up in court for the next five centuries. It ain't gonna happen.
"I get annoyed when people see "GPS" and assume that means they are being tracked."
If you use a digital cell phone, your location from GPS is sent to the cellular site, and recorded. You are being tracked. They could just as easily do this with GPS in your car - On*Star already does.
A new law promoted by the cellular phone companies as a "safety issue for 911 calls" requires ALL new phones to have location identification built in. Of course the REAL reason they got this law to pass was to get rid of any old analog phones. They take up as much bandwidth as a dozen "digital quality" calls. Why charge for 1 phone call on a channel, when you can charge the same amount to 10 users on that one channel. Have you tried to activate an analog phone lately? They won't do it, and tell you that it is illegal. If you have an analog phone currently active, if you ever let it lapse, it will NOT be reactivated. I have already been through this with Cellular One, and Alltel.
MA does not track your speed using Fastlane. I work in Massachusetts and talk about RFID as part of my job. However, you can get a ticket for speeding through a toll booth if you have a Fastlane tag. There are RADAR guns next to the lanes, and if you exceed the 15mph limit, you get a ticket in the mail. In this case the Fastlane tag is only used to identify you, while the RADAR is measuring your speed.
Like this.
The Constitution explicitly permits this: Article I, Section 10, Clause 2. Duties on Imports No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress. emphasis mine