I give this a year tops before it starts being used by the police against the owner's wishes. (eg when the rightful driver is driving faster than they like/fleeing them)
How is that any different? If you're fleeing the cops it should be used. Doesn't matter if you own the car or not. You are legally obligated to stop when a policeman is chasing you. There is no grey area here.
@Ghen: That's all well and good until there is a legitimate excuse (emergency, trying to get to the hospital), the cop uses it, and someone dies because they chose to take over someone's personal property.
That's not to say that this technology isn't useful...but there's definitely a very slippery slope here, from a personal liberty perspective.
@Ghen - Incorrect. While you DO have to stop, it is perfectly ok for you to choose a well publicized area to do so. Sometimes, this takes a little bit of time to find. All police organizations understand when someone is nervous about stopping because they aren't 100% certain that the lights in their mirror are actual police. And even then, there was a case here in San Diego of a cop stopping a woman, raping and killing her, so there's that to consider.
So.. yeah, gotta stop.. but no, I don't want the cops calling in On Star before I get to a public place to do so.
No gray area? Really? Because the government should definitely have control over all the products you bought, no wait let me rephrase that, all your personall property, to enforce their law? Apply that principle to every device every person owns, now tell me what sort of future that is. I take it you've never met a certain Mr. George Orwell or his friends.
Well, I think the owner needs to call OnStar to give them a password or something in order to do it in the first place. I don't think they will just let anyone call up to kill the car, with the potential of some one that doesn't like you calling OnStar and imitating a cop while you are on the highway.
Now OnStar just needs an auto-lock system for the doors so the guy can't run once the car stops.
You'll never see OnStar use this on one of their own customers without a court subpoena ordering them to do it. It's the same as with anything else like cell phone records, there would be no benefit for OnStar for slowing down a fleeing suspect.
@ hexydes "That's all well and good until there is a legitimate excuse (emergency, trying to get to the hospital), the cop uses it, and someone dies because they chose to take over someone's personal property."
I'm sorry, but there is never an excuse for a civilian to drive like a maniac. If you have a medical emergency, don't get in your own vehicle, call an ambulance. It may take a few minutes for the emergency vehicle to get there, but there are trained life savers in that vehicle, whereas in your vehicle there are not. I do not understand why someone would put a dying person (your example) in their own vehicle and risk their life for the amount of time it takes to get to the hospital instead of wait for EMS to come and stabalize and safely transport them.
You obviously have no experience with emergency situations, they often don't happen at times when waiting 15+ minutes for EMS to arrive and another 15 minutes to the Hospital is an option.
I sincerely hope your never put to the test in a situation like this, or your self righteous attitude about "civilians" ability to deal with emergency situations. Bad news buddy, Police and EMS are merely normal people with colorful uniforms and lights/sirens on their car that attempt to move traffic out of the way. They don't have magic powers that suddenly close gaps between spacetime and somehow make someone who is going to bleed out in 15 minutes not die because you called them to a scene instead of driving someone to the hospital yourself.
You don't have to drive like a "maniac" to drive quickly. I guarantee you I can drive safer at 160mph on a public roadway then you probably can at the speed limit... and from the number of times I've seen over weight, near sighted, over confident police officers make fools of themselves at the road course events I've participated in, it's clear that in a life and death situation, I would trust myself as much as I would one of them. especially since EMS is often a private contracted service... whom are also civilians.. how about that?
I think that's an e-peen thing. A), if you really think you can drive at 160mph on public roadways better than average folks can drive the speed limit, you are an amateur driver who does not understand driving very well. A Civic at 70 is a lot more stable than an M3 at 160.
Also, while you're basically right otherwise, I hope if you have to make an emergency drive, that you call the police and let them know what you're doing, and keep it at 85 or less. Traveling much faster than everyone else will get someone hurt.
Please don't take my statement as I am some crazy fart cannon honda driver roaming through rush hour traffic with DMX blaring trying to show the "mad honeys" how "dope" my fly ride is.
I wasn't using those numbers literally, and while I have driven the M3 at 160 mph (removed speed limiter) I would definitely not rate it one of the more stable cars at that speed, definitely not moreso then a civic at 70 (although I had a buick skylark once.......)
In fact, other then purpose built full frame sports cars (z06, Viper, Ferrari ect) there aren't many uni body (pretty much all other cars) I would say are "stable" (able to make traffic adjustments and brake within reasonable distances).
However, there are several public roads in which that speed is permitted. When I went to Germany in some sections of the Autobahn we had a pretty tuned up AMG benz doing well north of that for a few moments. In rural Nevada there are sections of highway where you could essentially go as fast as you could handle on the public road (they have events there too), but the deal is if you cause or are involved in a wreck, you face the consequences.
I apologize, I didn't mean for it to sound as literal as it did, I only meant that just because he wasn't confident in the abilities of his vehicle or his own operation of it, doesn't mean there aren't those of us who when called upon could drive in excess of the speed limit with as much or more regard for safety as a pathetically under trained LEO or private EMT contractor.
they have already used the remote phone feature to spy on drug dealers. Just about any of the features can be activated with a judge's warrant... it's not that hard to get.
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I give this a year tops before it starts being used by the police against the owner's wishes. (eg when the rightful driver is driving faster than they like/fleeing them)
How is that any different? If you're fleeing the cops it should be used. Doesn't matter if you own the car or not. You are legally obligated to stop when a policeman is chasing you. There is no grey area here.
Or, as said above, Onstar immobilizes the vehicles of everybody who is behind on their payments! lolz
@Ghen: That's all well and good until there is a legitimate excuse (emergency, trying to get to the hospital), the cop uses it, and someone dies because they chose to take over someone's personal property.
That's not to say that this technology isn't useful...but there's definitely a very slippery slope here, from a personal liberty perspective.
@Ghen - Incorrect. While you DO have to stop, it is perfectly ok for you to choose a well publicized area to do so. Sometimes, this takes a little bit of time to find. All police organizations understand when someone is nervous about stopping because they aren't 100% certain that the lights in their mirror are actual police. And even then, there was a case here in San Diego of a cop stopping a woman, raping and killing her, so there's that to consider.
So.. yeah, gotta stop.. but no, I don't want the cops calling in On Star before I get to a public place to do so.
@Ghen
No gray area? Really? Because the government should definitely have control over all the products you bought, no wait let me rephrase that, all your personall property, to enforce their law? Apply that principle to every device every person owns, now tell me what sort of future that is. I take it you've never met a certain Mr. George Orwell or his friends.
Well, I think the owner needs to call OnStar to give them a password or something in order to do it in the first place. I don't think they will just let anyone call up to kill the car, with the potential of some one that doesn't like you calling OnStar and imitating a cop while you are on the highway.
Now OnStar just needs an auto-lock system for the doors so the guy can't run once the car stops.
You'll never see OnStar use this on one of their own customers without a court subpoena ordering them to do it. It's the same as with anything else like cell phone records, there would be no benefit for OnStar for slowing down a fleeing suspect.
ditto! our new technology is awesome,,,,however the government will always step in and take it to there advantage as well as local law enforcement!
@ hexydes
"That's all well and good until there is a legitimate excuse (emergency, trying to get to the hospital), the cop uses it, and someone dies because they chose to take over someone's personal property."
I'm sorry, but there is never an excuse for a civilian to drive like a maniac. If you have a medical emergency, don't get in your own vehicle, call an ambulance. It may take a few minutes for the emergency vehicle to get there, but there are trained life savers in that vehicle, whereas in your vehicle there are not. I do not understand why someone would put a dying person (your example) in their own vehicle and risk their life for the amount of time it takes to get to the hospital instead of wait for EMS to come and stabalize and safely transport them.
@Musicman
You obviously have no experience with emergency situations, they often don't happen at times when waiting 15+ minutes for EMS to arrive and another 15 minutes to the Hospital is an option.
I sincerely hope your never put to the test in a situation like this, or your self righteous attitude about "civilians" ability to deal with emergency situations. Bad news buddy, Police and EMS are merely normal people with colorful uniforms and lights/sirens on their car that attempt to move traffic out of the way. They don't have magic powers that suddenly close gaps between spacetime and somehow make someone who is going to bleed out in 15 minutes not die because you called them to a scene instead of driving someone to the hospital yourself.
You don't have to drive like a "maniac" to drive quickly. I guarantee you I can drive safer at 160mph on a public roadway then you probably can at the speed limit... and from the number of times I've seen over weight, near sighted, over confident police officers make fools of themselves at the road course events I've participated in, it's clear that in a life and death situation, I would trust myself as much as I would one of them. especially since EMS is often a private contracted service... whom are also civilians.. how about that?
Tampa, 160 mph?
I think that's an e-peen thing. A), if you really think you can drive at 160mph on public roadways better than average folks can drive the speed limit, you are an amateur driver who does not understand driving very well. A Civic at 70 is a lot more stable than an M3 at 160.
Also, while you're basically right otherwise, I hope if you have to make an emergency drive, that you call the police and let them know what you're doing, and keep it at 85 or less. Traveling much faster than everyone else will get someone hurt.
Gimboa,
Please don't take my statement as I am some crazy fart cannon honda driver roaming through rush hour traffic with DMX blaring trying to show the "mad honeys" how "dope" my fly ride is.
I wasn't using those numbers literally, and while I have driven the M3 at 160 mph (removed speed limiter) I would definitely not rate it one of the more stable cars at that speed, definitely not moreso then a civic at 70 (although I had a buick skylark once.......)
In fact, other then purpose built full frame sports cars (z06, Viper, Ferrari ect) there aren't many uni body (pretty much all other cars) I would say are "stable" (able to make traffic adjustments and brake within reasonable distances).
However, there are several public roads in which that speed is permitted. When I went to Germany in some sections of the Autobahn we had a pretty tuned up AMG benz doing well north of that for a few moments. In rural Nevada there are sections of highway where you could essentially go as fast as you could handle on the public road (they have events there too), but the deal is if you cause or are involved in a wreck, you face the consequences.
I apologize, I didn't mean for it to sound as literal as it did, I only meant that just because he wasn't confident in the abilities of his vehicle or his own operation of it, doesn't mean there aren't those of us who when called upon could drive in excess of the speed limit with as much or more regard for safety as a pathetically under trained LEO or private EMT contractor.
they have already used the remote phone feature to spy on drug dealers. Just about any of the features can be activated with a judge's warrant... it's not that hard to get.