Posted on 11/19/2013 2:13:47 PM PST by jazusamo
(CNSNews.com) - Before the end of this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will decide whether or not to begin the rulemaking process to mandate that newly manufactured cars include what is being called “vehicle-to-vehicle” (V2V) communications technology that constantly broadcasts via radio wave the car’s location, direction, speed and, possibly, even the number of passengers it is carrying.
“NHTSA expects to make a decision on V2V technology by the end of the year,” a spokesman for the agency told CNSNews.com.
That point was reaffirmed by NHTSA Administrator David Strickland in testimony in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today, where he said the agency will “decide this year whether to further advance the technology through regulatory action, additional research, or a combination of both.”
“We expect to issue decisions on light duty vehicles this year, followed by a decision on heavy-duty vehicles in 2014,” he said.
NHTSA sees this technology as the first step on a “continuum” of automotive evolution that will ultimately lead to fully automated vehicles navigated by internal electronics linked to external infrastructure, communications and database systems.
The upside of a government-mandated movement toward cars that are not controlled by the people riding in them is that it could make transportation safer, allow people to use time spent in a vehicle for work, rest or entertainment, and give people who are currently incapable of driving because of age or disability the opportunity to move as freely as those who can now drive.
The downside is that such a transportation system would give the government at least the capability to exert increasing control over when, where, if--or for how much additional taxation--people are allowed to go places in individually owned vehicles. It could also give government the ability to track where people go and when.
The Obama administration says this is something it has “no plans” to do even if it does mandate V2V technology in all new cars.
“NHTSA has no plans to modify the current V2V system design in a way that would enable the government or private entities to track individual motor vehicles,” a NHTSA spokesman told CNSNews.com.
In October 2011, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a plan for researching the safety applications of this technology. It summarized how the technology would work and the information it could transmit from vehicles.
That settles it then, 0bama nor his Rat supporters would ever lie. /sarc
The NSA would love this.
Ping.
Another revenue stream and regulation put upon the people...
Might be just about time to get into the used car business. There is no way in hell I’d purchase a new ride with something like this in it.
a BIG F U USGOVT!!!
If we’re talking public official vehicles, I’m all for it.
Mine? Hell no!
I dunno why it wasn’t working /shrug
Tech-savvy kidnapppers would quickly hack the system, so their victims would be driven to whatever location the criminals (or government!) desires!
I have felt that local governments will fight this in the end. If vehicles are controlled by electronics then there will be no traffic citations.
What will most municipalities do when they can’t fleece the driving public with speed traps and shortened yellow lights for example?
I figure that speed, stops etc. will all be controlled by radio signals sent to vehicles as they cruise along.
A horse and buggy are looking good in my old age :-)
Now that the government's proven itself with the launch of Obamacare.com it's ready to move onward to building a system to drive all our cars for us. Should be a fantastic system.
Wait for micro-jammers to appear from China.
Chinese GPS jammers that plug into your cigarette lighter socket have been available for some time for about $20.
These type mandates are a huge can of worms. Our government is determined to control or at least be able to control us all at their pleasure. With the computer systems already in cars they’re most of the way there and we won’t be able to disable them because the vehicle will cease to operate.
You’re surely right, the systems will be open to hacking and jamming by our government and adversaries.
They cost more than that and the range is quite small.
It is possible to do satelleite GPS without tracking.
IIRC Garmin Navi and some similar made for cars do that. I just don’t trust the gubmint to make sure it’s receive only mode and not send.
Well, hell, lets put exhaust sensors in as well to tax peeps for pollution in real-time as they drive around.
The price is $135 though
It’s bad enough to be receive-only, imho.
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