Posted on 08/23/2005 5:18:35 PM PDT by teaser
The British government is preparing to test new high-tech license plates containing microchips capable of transmitting unique vehicle identification numbers and other data to readers more than 300 feet away.
Officials in the United States say they'll be closely watching the British trial as they contemplate initiating their own tests of the plates, which incorporate radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags to make vehicles electronically trackable.
(Excerpt) Read more at engadget.com ...
Sorry, you do not have the rights in your car as you do in your home. Try having sex in your car in a parking lot and see what happens. Besides, the 9th ammendment is a very poor choice as a supporter.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
This would mean that labels on mattresses are unconstitutional, as are billboards, neon lights, stuffed animals and handheld games. The ONLY thing that an RFID system does, is automate what could be tracked manually. That's it, and nothing more.
Ummm, again, do you 'know this', or really wish this were true. There are thousands of traffic engineers who's job is to time lights, regulate traffic and save lives.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and Federal Highway Administration provide guidance on signal timing, and two primary approaches prevail. Engineers can either employ a uniform value for the length of yellow change intervals, based on ITE formulas, or set the timing for each intersection individually to take into account factors such as geometry and traffic speeds. These approaches are backed by volumes of engineering studies, and to question them is to take on the whole community of transportation engineers and literature published by ITE and others.
Source - Common Sense
It is a right, clearly if you take away the ability to drive you severely restrict mobility and economic freedom in this society. As to your whys -
The reason for speed limits it to keep people from exceeding the safe speed for an area with which they are not familiar. In Kalifornia, the speed limit cannot be set below the speed at which 85 percent of the traffic travels. Many states to not have insurance requirements, safety checks or eye checks. Even tests are a fairly recent pheonomena. I think if you really look into it, licensing only exists to spread government control and to exact money from the public.
Most illegals here in the PRK do not have drivers licenses, their accident rate is identical to those who do.
Drivers licenses are only required for law abiding citizens, the rest don't bother.
The real fact is the government can tell you it is a privilege and as long as you agree, so it is.
666?????
Sources? Please list ONE state without insurance, safety or eye checks. Do actually believe this stuff you are spouting? A state is going to give a driver's license to a legally blind person with $10 in their pocket?
Sorry, 'Common Sense' is not considered a source. Accident rate of illegals is the same as everyone else? I think State Farm, GEICO, All State and others would beg to disagree. How many other 'facts' can you invent to back up this claim? Just wanting something to be true, does not make it true.
In Montgomery County, MD the yellow light at a camera-monitored intersection was found to have been reduced to 3 seconds when the county standard is a minimum of 4 second yellow. I won't even get into the questionable practice of the State assuming guilt until you prove your innocense.
Go get a cheeseburger Hodar. While you still can.
You need to learn more about how our Constitution works. The Constituton does not enumerate rights -- it lists limits on government power.
You have made a despicable and false accusation.
I see that you missed civics and civil discourse in your instruction on the duties and rights of citizens.
>>I failed to see where the RFID prevented you from going ANYWHERE. Your same arguement would apply to simply putting a unique number on a license plate, and then publically displaying it. The only difference (and the ONLY difference) is that instead of relying upon an optical device to monitor license plates, we are using RF technologies. So, somehow using RFID is a violation of your 'rights', but publically displaying your license plate isn't?<<
I was actually responding to a whole mindset, not just RFID. However, to respond to what you are saying let me just say the difference is degree of invasion of privacy. Let me give an example:
Let us assume that you try to keep your speed down for multiple reasons. First, you want to obey the law. Second, you want to drive safely. Third, you don't want to get a ticket. Of course from time to time everyone speeds accidentally. If you do it at just the wrong time, you get a ticket. It happened to my wife a year ago. Her first ticket in 51 years and a total fluke. It was a revenue generator for the city of bellevue (very low speed limit for the road and hard to spot speed limit sign) and the motorcycle cop was giving her a ticket and didn't even want to discuss it - he had to get out there to write more.
OK, now imagine that there is ALWAYS a cop sitting in the car with you and just waiting for you to break the limit. Would that add to your driving stress? That is basically the system we are working towards in the future - A virtual cop sitting in your car just waiting to nail you for speeding, bald tires, not wearing your seat belt, poluting (your check engine light comes on and they know it - OBD III), etc. That is not an appropriate way to treat adult human beings.
They can make the case that things would be "safer." But if we allowed the cops to just barge in and search houses for drugs and bad stuff from time to time, we would all be safer as well. Our founding fathers understood the concept of personal freedom from "random" government scrutiny. In fact the foundation upon which our constitution rests is the concept of individual freedom.
I even turn off the GPS on my cell phone. I like my privacy, And I will not give it up to get a little more security. I supply my own security, thank you. Cops are just secretaries with guns - and tax collectors.
I mainly bicycle commute.
What are your thoughts on these IDs?
Was it right to require them?
Who owns them?
How is that any different than what happens now without chips?
Depends upon what the purpose was. Was it to identify these individuals for special services (free food or privileges not extended to anyone else), or was this like the Germans requiring the Jews to wear the Star of David?
You do not own your driver's license, it remains the property of the state in which it is issued. You may be asked to surrender it upon conviction of certain crimes (DWI, for instance).
How does this change anything? You presently (and very likely have since birth) have a unique set of numbers and letters on the back of your vehicle. Your vehicle also has a VIN; with your name attached to it. All the RFID does is make getting this information easier, that's it.
This system does not monitor speed, who is in your car, where you are going, how reckless you drive, what music you wear, how much you weigh, who you associate with, nor does anyone really care, If someone is looking for your vehicle, and a RFID detector 'finds' your car at some stop-light; you can be found.
For example, you FOOLISHLY disable your cell phone GPS and have an accident. You call 911 and say "I've had a wreck, and I'm dying"; so what can they do? No GPS on your cell, so the call could have come from a very wide region. If your RFID was matched on some road, at least they have a clue where to send the ambulance.
We also can do some quick tracking of stolen cars, cars used in a crime, tracking drug dealers, coorelating cars at crime scenes where the criminal isn't apprehended (the snipers come to mind). Just like the cameras, they do not prevent you from doing anything; but some cowardly rag-heads are now apprehended in Great Britian after blowing up some buses. If not for these cameras, how many more people would be dead?
If it gets to that point then I agree that is too far, but I don't see it getting there, and a licence plate is property of the state they can track it how they see fit.
How do you like the taste of that "State" Koolaid? As long as you continue to drink it you'll get more.
I don't expect a straightfoward answer, but I do have a simple question: What rights do you think an American has once they step out of their home?
Since our system was designed to put limits on GOVERNMENT, NOT on We, the People, our so-called "representatives," who usually only represent themselves and their own ambition to control us, do NOT have the authority to convert RIGHTS to PRIVILEGES by requiring some sort of government wastepaper to do something which is none of their business if we do or not. Barring the use of force or fraud to gain something, whatever peaceable activity we choose to pursue, INCLUDING driving down the road, is not the business of government, PERIOD.
Since you choose to think otherwise, it is up to you to show where a particular authority is granted to government by the Constitution and is not simply and wrongfully assumed by it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.