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Is Your GPS Naive?
mi writes "Many GPS devices today will try to scan the FM bands for traffic advisories in the area to display on their screens. The signals, however, are neither authenticated nor encrypted, and one can — with commonly available electronics — construct a device to broadcast bogus advisories. Possible codes range from "bullfight ahead" to "terrorist attack"..."
"Speed trap ahead."
I too have felt the cold finger of injustice.
Why would you have a "terrorist attack" code for a traffic warning system? Okay, so I can see how maybe they might close off streets for emergency personnel, but couldn't you just leave the code at that - "Roads Closed"? I mean, if you go telling drivers that there's a terrorist attack ahead of you, they're going to panic, freak out, and maybe get into a car wreck.
"You teach a child to read and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test." - President George W. Bush
It would be much more fun to try for "Jelly wrestling ahead" and watch people panic TOWARDS the area.
Years ago (going on 30 years ago, now), I used to hitch-hike. It was safe then. This would be great for that sort of thing. But I can also see this becoming an annoying advertising tool.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
the writer seems to think encryption can solve this problem, encryption cant help here as the system is unable to communicate back to negotiate the setup, and if the signals are encrypted with a predetermined key it will be susceptible to replay attacks... how different is this to a common radio channel telling its listeners that there's been a terrorist attack etc? the issue seems to be more of a hype than a real concern...
If there isn't one specifically for "speed trap", then re-purpose one of the lesser used code. I'd recommend "bullfight" just because there will be very few instances of its legitimate usage.
Because the device has batteries, wires and flashing lights so therefore it must be a terrorist device, hence the code.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
There seems to be great marketing value here: general spam; rerouting via new shopping malls etc. Just imagine you're the owener of a gas station with decling sale: all you need to do is send messages that divert more traffic along your street and business picks up. Billbord advertising rates depend on the volume of traffic passing; ok, just re-route traffic when the traffic survey is being done. Late for work? Get everybody else out of your way. Just as long as you ignore your own 'advise' you'll get there on time.
If my GPS ever says "Terrorist Bullfight Ahead" I am so there. A couple of Tecates and some C4 sounds like the perfect afternoon.
I am surprised that there are any codes in there for man-made disasters. Why would anyone include a code for "bomb threat"? would'nt all cars in a twenty mile radius get the message?
Thank's for the heads up. I think that many of us here will be quite intrigued by this, and suddenly desire to either individually, or in groups, devise and create such a device, just so that drivers in the middle of New York or London get "Bullfight Ahead" on their GPS.
I have a hunch that their definition of "off the shelf equipment" varies significantly from that of the average slashdotter.
There are plenty of extremely simple radio transmission that would be even easier to hack. One that comes to mind are the (rather dated) tones broadcast locally to set off EMS / Fire pagers. Another would be the National Weather Service alerts.
Dan East
Better known as 318230.
You'll have, what maybe one guy do this just to see if it works?
PLease, a little less fearmongering.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Hmm.. works exactly like the evil bit. In fact, I'm sure that when they broadcast "terrorist code", somewhere in a lower-level function the evil bit is set too!
The saddest poem
What is the code number for "Martian Invasion"?
//Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
You don't actually understand the public key infrastructure problem, don't you?
There needs to be some way for the GPS receiver to receive the public keys. This is not solved just with embedding a fixed set of keys for every GPS receiver, because the set of keys in existence will change, either through the addition of new keys of the cancellation of compromised keys. So, you are going to need to communicate changes to the devices, and this is either impractical or unsecure.
...I still think this is funnier.
That's why they are called advisories. In fact, it may be useful to give truck drivers transmitters to warn people that their truck fscked the freeway. FM radio itself is not authenticated and anyone can transmit some urban legends on radiowaves. We just need to remember that not everything is secured and treat outrageous news with a grain of salt.
This is AWSOME! *digs through junk drawers*
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
XXX#######
My GPS has an FM traffic receiver, but I don't detour because of information provided by it. I get confirmation and further information from XM traffic, then I decide whether to detour or not.
When will you fuckers learn that it's spelt with an umlauted i, otherwise it wouldn't be pronounced nye-eve!
This does show how unreliable the GPS system is. Use a simple paper map already that is up to date.
I'd like to have something to make my morning commutes quicker. TomTom and a few others can receive traffic reports. If a report of a traffic jam is received, the user is given the option to detour around the traffic jam. Now if I get get everyone to detour around my daily commute route...
Go not unto/. for advice, for you will be told both yea and nay (but have nothing to do with the question)
It was a minor plot point in a Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex episode. according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ghost_in_the_ Shell:_Stand_Alone_Complex_episodes, it was the third
episode of the first season.
Section 9 ends a car chase by telling the suspects car there is construction ahead, and that he should exit the freeway.
It's not stupid. It's Advanced.
Radio Maryja, polish catholic radio with some extreme views on jews, EU etc (the same thing according to them ;)) used fake RDS for traffic announcements (TA, TP) few years ago. Drivers with RDS-enabled car stereos usually have their radios set to switch to such broadcast automatically so they often had to turn this option off entirely. Radio Maryja doesn't do that anymore, at least here, but there was a time when this was serious problem, they get away with many illegal radio practices :/
ok so. 7.45 I leave for work every day and every day my satnav tells me the fastest route to take[1] based on the speed limit of the various roads. However, there are traffic lights and traffic on the route suggested, I can't get anywhere near the speed limit... The satnav is operating on incorrect information.
However. It knows the true average speed along those roads at those times of day because it's actually following the route. All it has to do is to store, and use the stored average speed information for that road at that time on that day of the week. It can automatically take a different/faster route if I happen to delay and hit the school run. I want a satnav that learns this average information as it travels.
[1] I use it for the Estimated Time of Arrival and detour features.
Deleted
You beat the SHIT out of that strawman. Good show.
Now for an encore, drive from Jacksonville, FL to the city of Atlantic Beach keeping an even, steady speed.
Make sure to make a crack about cops and their moustaches.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
http://dev.inversepath.com/rds/
go to the source of the guys that did it. The info that the article decided to leave out.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Did you know that your neighbor has a set of deadly sharp steel knives in their kitchen? At any moment, they may crack, hack you and your family into small pieces, and feed them to the cat! They could be outside your front door right now!
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Construction crews could warn people of their presence around corners or hills, neighbourhoods could set up a "children playing" zone, et cetera.
That isn't always a good idea, as this student video proves. 285 loop in Atlanta, during rush hour, people driving side by side, within the speed limit, backing up traffic for miles. Quite funny, and proves the limit is too low.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
go run a hot bath and slit your fucking wrists fucktard!
In too many localities police will usually let a local resident off with a warning while ripping others off. This keeps local residents (who attend council meetings) content, and brings easy revenue (people from afar are very unlikely to challenge the tickets in local court) to the town. This selective enforcement gets documented occasionally and is a real bane of highway travel.
NJ's Governor Corzine just had a nasty accident, because his driver (a State trooper, no less) was going 91 in a 65 mph zone (Governor's vehicle can only do that in an "emergency"). The governor will take months to recover, because the moron was not wearing his seatbelt. Neither the hypocrite trooper (who had a similar accident a few years ago), nor the hypocrite governor are expected to be punished by law, although tens of thousands drivers are fined in NJ for the same (and lesser) offenses every year — most of them without causing an accident.
The speed laws are not reasonable — they take neither car's age and quality nor the driver's experience and health into consideration. What's too fast for an inexperienced 17- or half-blind 70-year-old driving a Buick is unreasonably slow for a healthy middle-aged driver driving a BMW...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Post schematics or it isn't possible to do this.
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
in Virginia traffic school, which I had to attend at age 16 over half my life ago. They said you do not have any obligation to move or go faster than the speed-limit whatsoever. This was from the county-enforced state-approved course taught AT the courthouse. Honestly, I think your type are assholes. But I'm too tired for a flame war right now so I will probably ignore your response.
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
Just out of curiosity:
Is it legal for a car going 75 mph to pass a large semi+trailer going 74 mph? That's what our non-speeder claims to do...
A car attempting to pass a semi at 75 mph is not going to be able to shift right to allow someone who wants to go 80 mph to pass him: the semi going 74 mph will be in the way. So, if that feat is legal, it'll force anyone behind this pair to go no faster than 75 mph.
On the other hand, that car is going to be spending quite a while in the blind spot of that semi. Passing a vehicle going 74 mph at 75 mph is going to take a while. So, if the semi's driver failed to notice that the car had started to pass it or mistakenly assumed that the car had gone to a normal above-the-limit speed while it was passing, then who is responsible if the semi tries to shift to the left lane when the car is still there next to it?
In other words, even if that passing behavior is legal, it may be suicidal.
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
You sure took a lot of words just to say "I am an asshole".
Found that video you mentioned.
The speed laws are not reasonable -- they take neither car's age and quality nor the driver's experience and health into consideration. What's too fast for an inexperienced 17- or half-blind
:-(
What seems to be the primary source of accidents is not absolute speed, but difference in speed: if you have some people going 100mph (no matter how experienced) and other 60mph, bad accidents seem more likely than if everybody goes 100mph or everybody goes 60mph.
So, I think we shouldn't take into account the car or driver. If they can't drive at the speed limit, they shouldn't be driving at all (with few exceptions, like certain trucks).
However, I do think US speed limits are unreasonably low. A speed limit of maybe 80-90mph seems OK given modern cars. Of course, that would mean maintaining our roads better... if they continue to deteriorate like they do, then 65mph may be a good choice
wheat scans my port of collins
OK, unfair/discriminatory/whatever, sure. But "ripping others off"? Did they break the speed limit or didn't they?
I would have said "unsafe drivers" were more of a real problem. A ticket when you break the speed limit may be annoying, but having your family wiped out by (e.g.) a drunk driver or a trucker pushing his alertness limits or a speeding NJ Governor, now THAT's a problem.
True enough. Of course, it gets complicated if you try to write legislation that codifies something as subjective as car quality and driver experience. The commonly accepted approach is to set the limits at a reasonably low average and to let the cop use his/her discretionary judgment. Perhaps your own car or apparent experience are not sufficiently reassuring - or perhaps the cops have just seen too many middle-aged corpses in wrecked BMWs.
You & I can argue about where the limits are set, but it's pointless. The roads are common property, the rules for sharing them are the rules we agreed to abide by when we got our licenses, and there really aren't many times when one simply must drive that fast (hint: they usually involve sirens and flashing lights).
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
They said you do not have any obligation to move or go faster than the speed-limit whatsoever.
Your primary obligation is to drive safely and avoid accidents. In most cases, that means that you don't have to go faster than the speed limit, but you still have to heed "slow traffic keep right".
Honestly, I think your type are assholes.
I stay with traffic flow, and I haven't gotten a moving violation in the 20 years I have had a license. And if you drive too slow in the left lane, I keep a safe distance.
Nevertheless, I have my opinion about people like you, and let me say: you're the asshole. It's people like you who put some intellectual game ahead of the safety of people around them. You know full well that you will get some bumper-hugging type-A personality behind you who doesn't keep safe distance from you, and when you two have an accident on the highway, you're going to take other people with you and block traffic for hours. You're just as much a "type-A" personality as the person who speeds, and you're just as dangerous. It's just that you're passive-aggressive instead of simply aggressive.
The only safe thing to do is that if the guy behind you isn't keeping a safe distance, you get out of the way. If you don't, you endanger yourself and everybody around you needlessly.
I don't know. I think that some residential roads can be divided into two lanes--esp. if it's only a dotted line doing the dividing--and still be residential roads. Your plan would make it a nightmare for any resident from a residential area to reach the edge a commercial area: that's already difficult enough in America without increasing the speed limits in the secondary roads connecting residential areas to each other.
On a related note, reducing speed limits because there's an school in the immediate vicinity is also a legit tactic; otherwise, how's a kid supposed to walk home? Most roads with schools on them do have markings.
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
I think that it could be argued that a speed trap is a police checkpoint. The main differences are, you often can't see the police car and they don't stop everyone; but I think that the principle behind a speed trap is similar to the principle behind a DUI checkpoint.
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
Really, do you even need to ask this question? They're for girls and masturbating, duh.
If a speed limit is unreasonably low, it is perfectly reasonable to call the strict enforcement of it "ripping off".
These too are problems. They don't happen as often, fortunately. And when they do, they (mostly) happen on streets, rather than highways. It is not rare, that the only other car on a long stretch of lonely highway is the policeman in the bushes... Hence the "bane of highway travel".
I think, this can be done by having extra car-inspections and driver-exams to qualify for, say 30% over the posted limit. The inspections will be more rigorous (checking breaks, tires, possibly alignment) and the exams will require proficiency in accident avoidance and reaction time — on a special track, with simulated pedestrians and swerving other "cars". These will be expensive to set up, so those wishing to undergo them will have to pay substantial extra... Those, who pass will have the extra qualifications added to their licenses and their cars' license plates.
This argument would make sense, if there was a choice. There is not — my "agreement" was thus under duress... Roads are a (natural) monopoly — of the government. It was great trick, that the government pulled on us all, when the access to public roads was declared a privilege to be granted (or withdrawn) by the executive, rather than a right not to be taken away without a proper trial. Although in many jurisdictions traffic cases are heard by a real judge, a major city like New York conveniently employs "traffic judges" — municipal employees, who are part of the executive branch. And other locales can do the same on a whim...
There aren't many times, when one must use a car at all — biking will get you there too, much safer, healthier, and better for the environment... Yet my right to drive as I please stems from the holy Pursuit of Happiness. It shall not be impeded, unless it interferes with someone else's right to same. And it does not — the artificially low speed limits, I brought up, line up the towns' coffers without improving safety.
This is why I advocate automated application of speeding fines, which can be setup immediately on all toll roads/bridges. The distances between exits are well known, and the time of entering and exiting is recorded with the payment... Such automatic application will, actually, get to everybody, including the upstanding citizens, who attend city council meetings and will result in very quick increases of the speed limits everywhere applicable.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Assuming that this is similar in the US, I hope at least. In my country speed limit on freeways is 130kmh (~80mph) or 110kmh(~69mph) when it's raining. Semis are only allowed 90kmh (~56mph) on Freeways.
Now, the law -as taught in driving education- states that you have to be able to drive 20kmh (~12mph) faster than the vehicle you try to pass (this is on every road, not only on the freeway). In essence, this means I can pass a semi going at its maximum speed, but I cannot pass someone driving 120kmh. Not that it's really observed, but I've never seen someone pass at +1kmh. Well, trucks sometimes do, but I do not get angry at them because being a truck driver is a high-stress job with tight scedules.
That said, one of the scariest things for a European driving in the United States is that vehicle can pass you at both sides. Here, passing on the right side of a car is equivalent to "high speeding" (+30kmh over speed limit) If you do that and get caught, you are going to see the judge at the court.
Finally, I drive a sporty car and I do drive at speed limits now too. It saves tons of gas...
Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
Only by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
by all those commercial messages sent instead of useful information, so any strange messages popping up in the GPS from the RDS system will be considered yet another junk information.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's illegal. I don't know the intrigate details of every passing-law in the world, but in Denmark you're required to go significantly faster the the vehicle you're overtaking. Which means that it's in praticallity illegal to overtake a truck going 74 in 75 zone.
In Colorado, it is ILLEGAL to run in the left lane unless you are passing. Period. The law was enacted almost a year ago. I'm not sure it's enforced, but thankfully I live far enough away from the city that it's a non-issue. I just wish they'd charge the semi's that block both lanes going 40 up a pass when there is signage stating that the left lane is 55mph MINIMUM...
Good thing I have a fast car and can make up for the lost momentum when I get stuck behind one of these guys, as most of the vehicles around me are screwed after they've lost that uphill momentum.
Ocean is land, covered with water.
Do you really think that studies aren't done to determine safe speeds on each road? This is something that is not only done on EACH road, but done for each SECTION of each road. This is done before the road is built as well as periodically throughout the road's life cycle. The studies take into account accident history and well as road condition and other safety factors. This is usually done by, or commissioned by the state's Department of Transportation. If it's a city/county road, then the city/county is responsible for it.
In 2005, a yield to the right law failed passage in Florida because people felt it would encourage speeding. I was against it because it wasn't coupled with a "pass on the left" law, so while the slower vehicles were trying to move right, the third or 4th speeder in line could swing out to the right to pass and not be held liable when they rear-ended the slower guy changing lanes. It's the combination of these two laws that would do the most for highway safety in the US.
I'm not buying the idea that yield to the right is even the law in most states without more evidence. I'm sure that it's a healthy minority, but the only place I know of for sure that actually has these laws is Germany, and that definitely isn't one of the US.
We are the 198 proof..
It looks like everyone responding to your post claims that if you rear-end someone you are automatically at fault. I know that at least here in Colorado that is not true. The mother of a friend of mine was found at fault for being rear-ended some years ago. An ambulance was coming from behind so she pulled over to the right lane and slowed down. However she was rather reckless because she slammed on her brakes to slow down, causing the person she had just pulled in front of to crash into her. I agree that in most situations you should be found at fault for rear-ending someone (especially when approaching a known stop point) but there are situations where there's absolutely nothing you can do from rear-ending some reckless driver.
As for your suggestion of increasing the speed limit to skilled drivers I disagree. The main reason I disagree is due to the much greater likelihood of fatalities and damage caused by accidents at that speed. The other is due to the enormously reduced fuel economy. I know rich people can afford to buy a Hummer or sports car and have 10mpg or less going 120mph down the road but come on, do we really need to be purposefully wasting oil and adding even more CO2 to the atmosphere at this point? This would be a terrible policy by the government to encourage an even more dangerous driving environment and would cause greater CO2 emissions rather than a reduction which is greatly needed at this point.
Next at 5: Someone can set up an un-encrypted FM transmitter and block out your favorite station.
No, I will not work for your startup
Well, that's one way to prevent speeders from outracing cops.
Besides, sports cars look more threatening than normal cars. I'm sure speeders get esp. spooked when they pass a Dodge Charger with a police light bar inside the rear window.
It's also another way to rack up tickets. It's tempting to drive fast around sports cars, and if the police light bar is inside the car (which happens a lot in my state), you might not realize what trouble you're in until it's too late.
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
We don't have RDS yet,
you insensitive clod!
If my call is important, why am I talking to a recording?
You're right, I for one support the right of every middle aged BMW driver to maim passerbys horribly.
(Or, slightly less inflammatory: You think age and CAR BRAND, no less, is an indicative of proper driving? I'm glad I live in another country, so you wont be driving on the same roads as me...)