In this story, we read about a car chase that never got very far, because OnStar was able to disable a stolen truck. The police caught the carjacker after he ran, jumped a residential fence, and fell into a swimming pool. Sounds great, right? I mean, you get your car back unmolested, and a Bad Guy got caught! Win-Win!
Hold on there.
First problem: a driver was rolling around UNARMED. The driver said they saw the goblin approaching their car with a gun in hand. Right there is where I show them the business end of my own gun, and my problem is solved. Not the case here, so the story continues. The driver and cousin are relieved of their phone, wallets, and a GM truck. The carjacker decides not to shoot them after they willingly exit the car. They had no guarantee of life after surrender, but they were fortunate enough to get it. Okay fine, the carjacker drives off in a stolen truck. The police are called, and OnStar is called. The thief finds his gas pedal increasingly ineffective, and the car stops. He gets out, is chased, and is caught.
So what's the matter with the OnStar folks being able to disable the stolen car? Isn't that a good thing?
No. It's a Very Bad Thing and here's why. Some of us are not confident that the system is un-hackable. This could forseeably be seen in use by a ring of car thieves. Figure out that disable signal and you're able to stop and steal GM cars to your heart's content, by forcing the legitimate owners to find another way to get where they are going, leaving the car unattended. That's one reason. The real reason is that I don't trust "the government" to have this power over my car. What's to keep Them from stopping Mike Vanderboegh with this, and disappearing him from the middle of Nowhere when he takes a road trip? What if you are fleeing from the agents of an oppressive regime?
VFD, you're a paranoid delusional nutjob on this one buddy!
Okay, then does this become a problem for you, if the Police gain the authority to MAKE your car stop at a DUI checkpoint? How about a seatbelt checkpoint? How about a checkpoint because we feel like having a checkpoint?
This is not a technology conducive to continued liberty in a country where the people are increasingly disinterested in liberty.
If I could afford to buy it, or afford to put gas in it, I would have a car with a carburetor and points ignition. Drive-by-wire? How about a LINKAGE for the steering, gas, clutch, and brakes? Hit me with a portable radio-controlled car carrying an EMP bomb? Hah! OnStar? Sure they can help you . . . to stop someone ELSE. If you want to stop me, you'll have to do it the hard way!
But I'm stuck in debt, and also not someone likely to need a car like the one I just described.
Hat tip to Uncle.
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'So what's the matter with the OnStar folks being able to disable the stolen car? Isn't that a good thing?'
My wife and I were discussing this the other day, and she realized this very thing, on her own.
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