Got another one of those e-mails that promote peace of mind.

[dorminWS]

Here's the introduction:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Have you heard about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NTSA’s) latest plan?

They are proposing the implementation of a new law that would basically require ALL passenger cars and trucks manufactured after September 2014 be equipped with a “black box,” similar to what’s currently installed on airplanes.

These boxes could be capable of tracking things like speed, location, number of passengers, etc.

It’s not clear exactly how these “black boxes” would be used, but it’s important to note that this isn’t something that has to pass through Congress…

The NTSA has full authority to change vehicle requirements on their own, and they’re scheduled to make their final decision, later this year.

To me, this is just another clear indicator that “Big Brother” is coming to America… And he’s coming fast. What little privacy we have left in America today will soon be gone.

Already, the government admits to snooping on our phone calls and emails. There are cameras and microphones everywhere… And now even drones (like the ones we use to spy in Afghanistan) are rumored to populate our skies.

[SHMIV]

One more reason to drive old cars...

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[allingeneral]

One more reason to drive old cars...

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Until they have the new "Cash for Clunkers" program with the updated ruleset that identifies any vehicle built before 2014 to be a clunker that must be relinquished to the government.

[ShotgunBlast]

Unfortunately the drone rumors are more than rumors. Police departments nationwide, despite their ever-increasing budget cuts, are looking to hop on the drone bandwagon for easy surveillance. The government discovered a decade ago that Americans will gladly give up their 4th amendment rights in the name of "security". Now they're testing the waters to see how much support there is for Americans to give up their 2nd amendment rights in the name of "safety". Then they'll see how much Americans will be willing to give up their 1st amendment rights in the name of "civility".

[OakRidgeStars]

Track this:

[GeneFrenkle]

I thought they were already present in a number of cars.

Also, I suspect similar, if not identical information, is being gathered by Progressive's new Snapshot system. Kinda makes me wonder who "owns" the data, what kind of warrant is needed for that data, under what circumstances can be it subpoenaed, what data retention policy is it under, whether or not 5th A protections apply, etc.

[SHMIV]

Yeah... Progressive Snap Shot. I won't spend money with them, anyway, but that has always seemed a bad idea to me.

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[thekinetic]

Anything that's installed can be uninstalled, then reinstalled for inspection/emission then uninstalled again!

[Reverenddel]

Gadamma KINETIC! YOU BEAT ME TO IT!

Yeah, we need more "two-tree" mechanics with skeelz to unhook the guv'mint tracking... and the GPS tracking.

More, and more? I'm thinking "Cash for Clunkers" was a way to remove some old vehicles off the street to put more "modern" (IE: tracking modules) into people's driveway.

[mamabearCali]

The world is getting more and more scary by the minute

[widefat]

...or use GPS tracking to facilitate mileage based gas taxation:
http://mobilitylab.org/2013/01/31/incre ... ion-study/

[DryBones]

...or use GPS tracking to facilitate mileage based gas taxation:
http://mobilitylab.org/2013/01/31/incre ... ion-study/

unless McDonnell's new transportation plan gets passed and the gas tax goes completely away and we all get a .8% increase in our everyday sales tax.

[GeneFrenkle]

The phone companies (and... ahem... others) alrrady have a general idea of where you go via cell phone towers. That's how they know if you're roaming.

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[OakRidgeStars]

The phone companies (and... ahem... others) alrrady have a general idea of where you go via cell phone towers. That's how they know if you're roaming.

Not exactly. The wireless companies know who's network you're on by the SID (System ID) number that the radio is connected to.

However, when you dial 911 your location is sent via the e911 protocols.

[GeneFrenkle]

Thought the phone number in addition to the SID ws sent too for the routing. Been a few years since I was in telcom... FTS2000 stuff.

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[Reverenddel]

It's why I turn the phone off, and pop the battery when I'm "Incog-Neato". HAHAHA

[Rualert]

And as far as the "black boxes" go, the computer already installed in your car will record a small sampling of data just prior to a crash. Insurance companies, and the NTSB have been known to pull them and recover the last know speed, air bag deployment, and other tid bits. This generally applies to newer 2000 and up models, and some record more than others. A simple $25.00 OBDII to USB or Bluetooth device and either the software that comes with the device, or some freeware will provide you with access to most of this information. The software I have seen will run on laptops, tablets, even phones, and do live data recording. So if you were worried about it, I understand, the new version the NTSB, and insurance companies want will most likely have some sort of near field wireless access, so an investigator can simply get close to the vehicle and dump the stored data. The current computers, and controllers generally only store a small amount of data, and trouble codes. It's the new ones I worry about.

[VACoastie]

During Search and Rescue cases, I can call the company and they'll let me know a geographic region, based on tower used (height and GPS coords of tower) and the radio horizon theory 1.23x sqrt of height of tower and I can generally give a decent area of where a call came from. As far as an actual lat/long, as far as I'm aware, that's only given for 911 calls. I would LOVE for the coast guard to be able to have that system for when people report Flares or other types of distress.

Now, I'm sure some government nerd out there could really get the lat/long if they really wanted to w/out the 911 system, but all I need for CG purposes is an area to send a helicopter for whomever is in distress.

I'm no tech guru though, I'm just giving an example of how we use that particular info.

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