Sorry 2020+ Owners....Big Brother is Watching...and Aliens....

Note to self: No electronics on the killdozer.

 

Another good reason to always commit robberies in a bitchin 80’s Camaro.

For real though, that’s pretty fucked up.

 

Not every vehicle, but they do have the capability.

 

Read my edit.

 

Just wait until Mercedes lets you tell Alexa to give you a reach around on the new Maybach.

 

Yeah u say that now.

 

"Ok, intializing the self destruct sequence"

 

"Ok, playing Fade to Black by Metallica"

 

Even without permission though, it depends on the situation. While typically it would require a warrant, SCOTUS has ruled that in situations of imminent harm like kidnappings (for high speed pursuits, I suppose it would depend on the reason for pursuit and risk of imminent harm) the warrant requirement can be waived. Typically this has been used in the tracking of cell phone data for GPS, but it would not be a stretch to use the immobilizer function on a vehicle that presents a serious threat of death or aerious injury to the public at large.

 

Here is a very simple and very real scenario. So my 2020 TRD OR has the lane departure warning feature. I keep it on because it is useful when I take long drives. Not the most important feature but I find it fairly useful. I live in NY and our roads are the worst you can imagine. Potholes everywhere. I hit one with my BMW and had $3,700 in suspension damage. It is a well known thing here and many new dealers actually sell tire and rim insurance because of it -- it is that bad.

So when I am driving I am constantly swerving to avoid giant pot holes. The lane departure warning beeps over and over again even though I am in control of the car. Say I get into an accident down the road. They subpoena that data and go "holy cow, sir, you have 7,000 lane departure warnings. You are clearly guilty." I am toast. Now, I don't drive fast, I take my time, etc. But that is a very real scenario.

 

Well said. For me it's just little by little giving up rights. Once they take them, they never fuckin give em back. So little by little they erode our freedoms in the sake of convenience, but at what cost @averagejp? At what cost!


sorry I get a little worked up some times.

 

After I totalled my Tacoma, I had a rental, like brand new Ford Fusion. Instead of the beeping, when I'm going around a pothole or debris or animal in the road, this motherfucker would take over the wheel and start teying to ateer into whatever I was avoiding. I absolutely hated it.

 

If you read the TOS for anything these days big brother is watching.

 

Man, i’m not so sure about that at all. Maybe if it can prove that you swerved into the other lane at the exact place & time of the accident, + or - a second or two, then that’s different. But if it only collects data of how many times you’ve swerved since you’ve owned the vehicle, that doesn’t prove anything about an accident, only the number of times you’ve swerved since you’ve owned the vehicle.

 

Now, this article refers to data surrounding an actual accident. But insurance companies are pressing for data to set rates and it is not that far a leap to look at a broader set of data to identify patterns. Note: I am not saying this happening now (that I know of) just that there are three areas where this data will be useful: 1) In an accident, 2) By insurance companies, 3) To show long term driving patterns to determine culpability. All very plausible.

Link:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marina...-witness-against-you-in-court-2/#51c2221431c5

 

You gave a “very real scenario”. I’m just stating how the law works. If that data can not prove without a doubt that you swerved to cause an accident, then you are not “toast”. That’s my only point here. Nothing else.

 

That is not how the law, particularly in civil court, actually works. Now that being said, any attorney worth his fee would definitely be able to get historical driving data excluded as it is not relevant to the case at bar.

 

If you haven't seen the Marvin Heemeyer documentary, it is very, very well done.

 

This is the best argument for not laying over and letting big brother give it to you. It's not an issue right now. In the future, things can change, so don't give in now to prevent the future heartache. But humans are lazy and if it's not a half inch in front of their face, they'll take the easy route.

 

Well...they also make a ton of money selling those insurance plans.