The recently-touted idea by AXA insurance to keep electronic speed tabs on young drivers in return for lower premiums might seem a good idea.
Don't think so. It's the thin edge of the wedge.
Even though this one would be 'voluntary', and at a substantial cost to the young driver, they'd soon be demanding that we all carry the in-car 'spies'.
The ramifications are horrendous. Trouble is, it's closer than you think.
Try this scenario. Joe is coming home to Dublin in the early hours of Saturday morning, finds the Newbridge bypass beautifully clear under a bright full moon, and he lets his car wind up 15mph past the posted limit. Maybe he doesn't even notice.
He arrives home safely, climbs into bed and hugs his sleeping wife before drifting off to a well-deserved time in the land of nod.
The following day he gets an email from his insurance company, automatically generated by his car's onboard spy. It says that as he exceeded the speed limit on the Newbridge bypass, his cover has now been suspended pending the payment of a surcharge. And it warns that he has been put on a list which will be referenced when it comes time for his insurance renewal.
Off the wall? Humph.
Surveillance is power, power is money. Insurance companies may say such things are to reduce OUR costs, but in reality it's to make extra profits.
Profit is not bad. That's what business does. It's needed to develop better goods and services. But wolves shouldn't try and pretend to be sheep. They smell different, anyway.
But back to the 'spy' in our cars. It's already here in part. Bring a modern car to the garage because you heard something funny and they'll just plug in a computer and the car will download every moment of its use since its last service, including any hiccups that occurred. If you've abused the engine, the service manager will know.
But it's going to get better. Or worse. For instance, GPS navigation systems don't just work one way. The driver can use it to see where he is, but so can anyone else who has the right software.
There are already car rental companies in the US using GPS to keep tabs on where their vehicles are. They can even immobilise the car remotely if the credit on the renter's card runs out.
(One upside: they can also open the car remotely if you've locked your keys inside.)
At least one renter is also 'fining' customers if they exceed posted speed limits, even if the cops haven't noticed or bothered. One guy whose card they debited an extra $450 for this is suing, but it doesn't look like he'll win. I personally won't be renting from Acme Car Rental in New Haven CT.
Having satellites tracking every move I make isn't something I really want. The police will love it, because it means they can get even more off the road and just watch screens, instead of providing a physical security service on the street.
(Talk to me about city centre CCTV sometime. If you have quite a while.)
But what really bothers me is that it is the private corporations that are getting seriously into the surveillance area, as they have into parking management, security, and even the running of prisons. Police are to a degree controlled by us. Private companies are not.
I for one don't want private organisations knowing my every driving movement, no more than I want them to implant a chip in my neck to record where I walk or cycle.
Apart from giving them even more information about my lifestyle than do my credit or debit or loyalty cards, they gain a real-time trace of the places I go to and even the people I visit.
It is a situation open to enormous abuse.
And unless we decide now to protect ourselves, it will be a fait accompli. Probably under the guise of an added-value service, or being 'good for the community'.
Maybe it already is accomplished. Big Brother may well be the car you're driving. Or will be driving soon.
©2001brianbyrne/IrishCar.Com
August 26 2001
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