I read a recent article on dvice.com about a new mandate by the NHTSA (The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) that says all new vehicles in the United States of America must have a “black box” installed. Here is a portion of that article:
source “Similar in concept to the familiar black boxes used in commercial aircraft for decades, the boxes are expected to record information about speed, seat belt use and brake application in the final seconds leading up to an accident, the data can be retrieved for later analysis.”
How convenient, now the police will be able to retrieve information from your car to give you a ticket. That should generate a lot of revenue for cash strapped states.
Now here is where the brain washed media shows their sheep like mentality:
“Before you start screaming about government overreach, you should know that almost every new car already has a device like this fitted at the factory. For example, GM has fitted one to almost every new car they’ve built since the early 1990s.”
So the author has no problem with this mandate because they are already invading their privacy. Wouldn’t make more sense to have a mandate that these black boxes only be installed with the car owners consent?
Now the author almost has a rational thought:
“This sounds like a sensible idea, as long as strict limits are places on what data is recorded, and who has access to it. The potential for abuse is huge, such as cops using it to issue speeding tickets, or GPS data being used in a divorce case to show who you were visiting. Still, the upside could be pretty significant too, for example proving that you weren’t speeding when you had an accident.”
So close but yet so far away. How could installing a GPS tracker on your car without your permission even close to a “sensible idea”? Does this author understand that it currently takes a warrant signed by a judge for police to install such a device, they need probable cause that you are involved in a crime in order to do this currently and this mandate will eliminate that need in the future.
Lets look at the big picture. Now if you take the fact that the information from these black boxes could be transmitted by RF and then read this:
source “Department of Transportation officials have drafted legislation that would study a vehicle tax to track how far drivers travel and charge them by the mile. The proposal would create a “Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office” to conduct trials of the concept.”
You could see where I get nervous. Looks to me like step one is to mandate the device installed in all new cars, then you promote a new round of cash for clunkers to get more people into new cars, then you tax people based on how much they drive.
It won’t be long until your government will be able to track your every movement via satellite. You will then be taxed per mile traveled, state or county lines crossed. You will be issued speeding tickets as soon as your vehicle crosses the posted speed limit. Start your car before your seatbelt is on and you will find an envelop in your mail box.
Once they realize that most Americans do not drive new vehicles, how long before they mandate the instillation of these boxes in order to register your vehicle? It’s all for your safety, big brother cares.
Say it with me everyone… I’m as mad as hell and I won’t take it anymore!!