Fed to Mandate that Cars “Broadcast Speed and Location Data” Promise Not to Use it Against You

free thought project ^ | July 3, 2015 | Justin Gardner

[upchuck]

Federal government is currently crafting a mandate that would require all new vehicles to “talk” to each other continuously. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to submit their proposed “connected car” rule by the end of this year.

Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology has been developed by top automakers over the past decade and is ready for commercialization. It uses a combination of Wi-Fi, GPS data, and sensor data collected by the vehicle to transmit a signal on speed and position 10 times a second.

Like so many technologies, V2V is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it has great potential to reduce car crashes, which claim 37,000 lives a year in the U.S. It also means that your driving data will be broadcast openly, making it easy for interested parties to intercept this information.

“V2V ups privacy concerns because it essentially broadcasts a vehicle’s location and speed, as well as some information about where a vehicle has been previously, to anyone within range. And while Department of Transportation officials told the GAO that “V2V communication security system would contain multiple technical, physical, and organizational controls to minimize privacy risks—including the risk of vehicle tracking by individuals and government or commercial entities,” regulating who can use V2V data and for what would fall outside the Department of Transportation’s span of control. It would essentially require legislation by Congress.”

Considering the mass surveillance being carried out by the National Security Agency and other agencies, it is highly unlikely that authorities would ignore this potent source of information. Local governments could use the data to track those they consider “bad actors.”

[Proud2BeRight]

It should be possible to disable it, a fuse here, a wire cut there, an antenna removed or shielded somewhere. I just hate paying for something that I will immediately remove.

[ealgeone]

Uh, no!

[familyop]

Even safety radar has a hole, BTW. Not every vehicle broadcasts a signal. Safety radar can lead to complacency for drivers who are not alert.

As for the new technology, see my comment #49. A vehicle with the new technology installed (as per the article above this thread) and turned on while running a red light won't have a roll cage. Others will in the near future (see open source equipment design, open source vehicle, open source car, fire resistant crush barriers and restraints in lieu of helmets).

New vehicles from global corporates are overly expensive, of poor quality and good for little but a rent-seekers' economy. They support the regime of artificial scarcity and frequent, high-cost, unnecessarily complicated maintenance.

Build something for surveillance, nerds can turn it off in their own vehicles and watch vehicles of trespassers from afar. Is that really what gadget-loving, technically retarded "professionals" really want? All of the computers, robots, patents, etc., are belong to us. Low-techs will rule.

[rockrr]

I honestly don’t GAS. I will continue to drive no matter what they do.

[trisham]

Good.

[Proud2BeRight]

Nothing could go wrong. The Takata airbags, Toyota accelerators and brakes, GM ignition switches, hackers breaking into virtually any system. No problems.

[Scrambler Bob]

M4L cars

[SandRat]

Fed to Mandate that Cars “Broadcast Speed and Location Data” Promise Not to Use it Against You

It's a LIE!

[The Great RJ]

I am certain if this passes there will be many entrepreneurs marketing devices to block these devices. Isn’t the holy grail of liberals the right to privacy for abortions, so why should the government be able to violate my right to privacy to go where I please without government snooping?

[Terry L Smith]

And of course, how much more will thast government snoop box cost the consumer?????

[Red in Blue PA]

Comrade, all of those old cars were destroyed in Cars for Clunkers I & II.

[trisham]

Yes. He and his friends will stop at nothing.

[familyop]

"I’m currently on the hunt for a hot Flathead."

That would be really neat, although maintenance was frequent and important. If that's what you want,...

http://www.car-part.com/ or another wrecker network. A wrecker near you should also have access to a wrecker network. Might also try general Internet searches.

My dad raced flathead V-8s in super modifieds and had some flathead V-8s in street rods, too (yes, including a '50). The super modifieds required an engine rebuild every week (thin heads, very high compression, IIRC). A little later, he liked building overhead valve 292s for slightly later models more than he enjoyed flatheads.

"The guy who built the car did a nice chop and channel job, but he put in a small block with auto tranny. It’s a good engine, but an automatic in a street rod? No way!"

Agreed. Automatics are hard on brakes among other things. Racing automatics are lighter than standard transmission/clutch assemble combinations and alleviate some problems with stock automatics, but they're overly expensive and need more maintenance.

You might consider a more contemporary engine with a standard transmission. Fuel injection is nice, and recent electronics (without surveillance equipment) aren't all that hard to maintain. There's good knowledge specific to some models on many discussion boards.

Or you might want a flathead. Much to be said for those, and finding one is probably doable. Might even search to see if there's an aftermarket outfit for new flatheads.

The Internet is a great resource for technical knowledge.

[rockrr]

Ha! I have a backyard full of them! ;’)

[wally_bert]

I have both Willys and American Motors. One runs, well sort of and the other I hope will later this year. They stay unless I decide otherwise. The same with my ragged old 79 K5 Blazer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha4qBpPqBJI

I made that for Ebay purposes as I thought I had it sold but it was a brain dead deadbeat bidder. I’ve decided to keep it. The gentle rumble of a 350 is still a nice sound to me despite a clicking valve.

Not worried about anybody stealing it. If they did it wouldn’t take much to catch them. The transfer case is stuck in low range. Haven’t gotten to fixing it yet.

[COBOL2Java]

The ABA loves it.

Don't forget the TSA! This'll give them the authority to monitor our highways!

[familyop]

"All they have to do is make it illegal to drive a car that is not equipped with this function."

Both socialist political parties will work for such efforts, especially with the candidates who make the most charismatic and appealing promises. The only kind of candidate who will work against the regime will be like Scott Walker, one with a real record of cutting spending to constituents with government incomes.

There are legal and technical ways around every regulation. The more efforts to enforce artificial scarcity, spook consumers and run surveillance on them, the more that open source design and low-techs will rule.

The new political class will not win. The remainder of the default process is coming. There will be no way to keep ill-gotten funds. Technological victory will be with those who are also technically inclined with their hands.

[trisham]

I hope that you are right.

[pluvmantelo]

From 2013 article:
The U.S. government tried to mandate ignition interlocks — which prevent a vehicle from starting unless seat belts are fastened — in cars in the early 1970s to prod more people to use seat belts. The rules prompted such a public outcry that Congress made it illegal for regulators to require the interlocks.
But a transportation bill that Congress passed in 2012 lifted some of the restrictions.
Now car companies are asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to let them use interlocks in lieu of crash tests for people who do not wear seat belts.
NHTSA says it sees the promise of these interlocks, but is not yet ready to give automakers the green light.
In a regulatory notice today that denied a petition from BMW to offer interlocks, the agency said it will study interlocks through 2015 to figure out whether they will save lives by making people buckle up.

Sounds grim. Think I’ll put off buying new wheels until right before this stuff becomes mandatory.

[theBuckwheat]

The little box strapped to the next road sign about shoulder height is the perfect innocuous location for the small receiver and interface into the network that already has been built to support roadside information signs and traffic monitoring video.

As an example of network load, the heaviest traffic count at any single location in Missouri is at the Blanchette Memorial Bridge where I-70 crosses the Missouri River west of St. Louis. In 2008 the daily traffic count was about 150,000 vehicles a day.

If all vehicles were able to be monitored so their unique IDs could be captured along with a time stamp, 150k packets of info per day is nothing for a computer network that is already provisioned to carry video feeds.