Whose Privacy Was Invaded Here?
I sometimes get a bit depressed at the number of queries I get here about defeating GPS tracking systems and about how invasive GPS is when tracking vehicles on the public roads … where there is no right or expectation of privacy, under the Constitution or any other law.
GM has been selling and very effectively using a GPS tracking system called OnStar for several years now. I really wonder why other auto companies have not taken up similar offers. OnStar has considerable benefits to the owners of GM vehicles … didn’t, very few would pay the annual subscription costs for the service.
It has some significant benefits to other motorists from time to time as well, as this article clearly shows:
The On Star Navigation System proved helpful for one local motorist during the early hours of March 15, when sleet and rain caused some dangerous driving conditions.
The system came to the aid of not just the subscriber, but four other motorists, after three vehicles collided at the intersection of Tehachapi-Willow Springs and Highline Roads. With snow and sleet falling, a 2006 Toyota Prius driven by a Bear Valley resident slid through the intersection striking a 2008 Chevrolet pick-up truck, traveling southbound on Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road. The pickup truck in turn was knocked into a 2005 Honda Accord which was traveling northbound.
When the airbag was activated by the collision, it sent an alarm to an On Star dispatcher who tracked the vehicle’s location and notified local CHP officers…
So what do you think? Should the owner who was smart enough to have OnStar active on his vehicle be thanked and congratulated for getting help on the scene immediately, or should he be sued for "violating the privacy" of the others involved in the accident? You be the judge.
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