Are you onboard for this?

[bobpbx]

I'm not. Would definitely ruin my day. What about you?

A speed warning chime in every car? It’s coming, and Americans are onboard

(TestMiles) – Imagine driving down the highway, your favorite tune blasting, when suddenly a chime reminds you you’re over the speed limit. Annoying? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely. And g…

www.wtnh.com

 

[Teegate]

Big brother!

 

[Boyd]

"New cars must beep and display a warning if the driver exceeds the speed limit by at least ten mph." I don't think it would be much of an issue for me if it only happens at 10mph above the limit. It would be rare for me to go that fast. I generally stay pretty close to the limit, have never been much of a "speed freak" or thrill-seeker.

OTOH, it's not something I would go around campaigning for.

 

[enormiss]

I’ll keep driving my old junk, thank you. My Here maps alerts over 10mph. It’s really annoying when traffic bounces between 9-11 over, cause it keeps alerting every time you drop and go back over…

 

[bicycle tim]

You mean to tell me my wife is being replaced by modern technology?

 

[smoke_jumper]

I find it hard to believe most Americans are ok with their car constantly tracking where they are at all the time. And record their speed. The only way for the car to know the speed limit is to know what road you are on.

 

[bobpbx]

I find it hard to believe most Americans are ok with their car constantly tracking where they are at all the time. And record their speed. The only way for the car to know the speed limit is to know what road you are on.

But John, all GPS units like the Garmin brand (which I still have in my truck) do that. I'm sure you've used them before.

 

[Boyd]

That battle was already lost without a fight. License plate scanners are everywhere, there are businesses that lease them and even small towns have signed up, installing stationary ones and also putting them on police cars where they constantly harvest data from every car they pass. And if that's not enough, do you have a cell phone? If it's turned on, you're being tracked.

Not sure if you can even buy a new car that doesn't have internet connectivity and gps built in (even if they don't have a navigation app). This is actually a selling point, so I guess people are "ok" with it. Remember last year, a Volkswagen was carjacked with a kid in the back (or something). The car had the gps/cellular hardware but the owner did not subscribe to the service. So, the company refused to cooperate with law enforcement. IIRC, the refusal came from the company that VW contracted to manage the program and VW ended up changing their policy to automatically include a subscription on all their cars.

I don't know whether Americans are "ok" with it, but that genie isn't going back in the bottle. I've read that businesses are also deploying license plate scanners in their parking lots, there was some controversy about a big chain (Starbucks? McDonalds? Don't remember) using them so that when you pulled up to the drive in window, they knew who you were and what you usually ordered. Facial recognition is also being used similarly, with private companies selling them as a service. Just read an article about one of the biggest companies, whose stated goal is to have every face on the planet in their database and is already off to a good start. Privacy, as I've known it for much of my life, just doesn't exist anymore. I'm not happy about that, but it doesn't seem to bother others very much.

But, regarding that article, it says they are proposing a system where a camera actually recognizes the speed limit signs using the computer in your car without an internet connection. In that case, no "tracking" is being done. It's just reading the speed limit signs like you would (should?) do yourself.

 

[smoke_jumper]

But John, all GPS units like the Garmin brand (which I still have in my truck) do that. I'm sure you've used them before.

Only when they are on. Same with a phone.

 

[smoke_jumper]

But, regarding that article, it says they are proposing a system where a camera actually recognizes the speed limit signs using the computer in your car without an internet connection. In that case, no "tracking" is being done. It's just reading the speed limit signs like you would (should?) do yourself.

You caught me lol. I didn’t get a chance to actually read the whole article and was even going to mention it in my original response.
As some of you know I do a lot of driving with my job. Much of it is NYC too. In September I got a new work car. This is the first one that has all the new sensors. I beeps at me if I start drifting. It beeps at me if it thinks I haven’t touched the steering enough. It beeps and flashes if it sees stopped traffic ahead. And occasionally it will slam on my breaks to avoid what it thinks would be an accident. Driving through Manhattan several times it’s slammed on my breaks when a bicyclist cross crosses through traffic. I’m not a big fan of it lol

 

[bobpbx]

When I bought my new car in December, I read the fine print that said they would share my driving data with "partners" unless I opt out. So, I followed the bread crumbs to opt out. It took some fancy internet turns to find it, but I found it, and they sent me a statement verifying that I opted out. But I still have the button to push up by the visor to have them send me aid if I need it. That I kept on.

 

[Boyd]

My 2023 car has all those sensors and alerts and yeah, the braking alerts can be very startling and usually there's no apparent reason. But it's all optional (AFAIK) and you only get the alerts when the assistive options are enabled (like adaptive cruise control). But it's all very confusing, with icons on the screen I still don't understand. I think they just passed a law that all new cars must have automatic braking systems in a few years, didn't they?

Anyway, the primary point I was making was that it makes no difference how old your car is, what sensors it has or whether your cell phone is turned off. License plate readers are tracking you everywhere. I think NYC tracks your EZpass wherever you go, don't they? That was a system they rolled out a number of years ago, to support the congestion pricing scheme that their governor just shot down.

 

[Boyd]

I read the fine print that said they would share my driving data with "partners" unless I opt out. So, I followed the bread crumbs to opt out.

They really need to make this kind of thing easier and more obvious. Of course, there's also the question of whether you can trust them. But let's say they're trustworthy and actually don't share any of your data. Then, they get hacked and now your data is available to any bad guy who can afford it.

 

[66C10]

Driving a modern vehicle is like driving a cellphone with wheels. Manufactures are constantly battling with keeping their radio software up to speed with Apple and Android software. Customer comes in with a radio complaint (i.e. Apple carplay disconnects randomly while driving) and the radio software needs to be updated via usb that has update software downloaded provided to dealerships by the manufacturer. So the radio and phone are now up to date and now working correctly. Then BOOM new update comes out from Apple a month later and a new concern arises (i.e. bluetooth calls drop out randomly while driving) except this time the manufacturer hasn't provided the dealer with a new software yet so Mr. or Mrs. Customer now has to deal with this issue until dealership gets the proper tool (USB) from manufacturer. It's a seemingly never ending cycle that we deal with every day. Customer buys a 50-60-70-thousand dollar vehicle and is told "Sorry Mr. Customer we know your paying $900 a month for this vehicle but your phone won't be able to be used via bluetooth in this car due to the fact that the manufacturer is aware of the issue and doesn't have a fix yet." How about interference? 6 kids in a car with 1 driver= 7 different phones in the veh at the same time along with may be an ipad or 2 or whatever the kid is playing games on, can cause modern audio units to go haywire. Same with an EZ Pass or dash cam mounted on the windshield too close to the lane departure warning camera that the customer probably has no idea their car even had. Some vehicles with can have 6 cameras mounted all over the vehicle for Automatic Emergency Braking, Around View Monitor, Self Parking ect... but if you want to put a dash cam in your vehicle next thing you know the vehicle is setting off 10 different warning lights all from an aftermarket accessory (dash cam) being plugged in. How about when you own a 10 year old vehicle and find that the OEM or aftermarket doesn't manufacture a part you need to fix your veh anymore. Now days radios could cost 1-2 thousand dollars, 1 aluminum rim is $900, and an all PLASTIC glovebox assembly could be $1100. I will keep fixing these modern garbage cans on wheels by day and driving home my 14 year old vehicle by night. Modern vehicles are a scam that we are forced into.

 

[Boyd]

This time it was Subaru, but it could have been any other new car with all these "connected" features....

"...they found they could also track the Subaru's location—not merely where it was at the moment but also where it had been for the entire year that his mother had owned it. The map of the car’s whereabouts was so accurate and detailed, Curry says, that he was able to see her doctor visits, the homes of the friends she visited, even which exact parking space his mother parked in every time she went to church."
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"The Subaru spokesperson also confirmed to WIRED that “there are employees at Subaru of America, based on their job relevancy, who can access location data." The company offered as an example that employees have that access to share a vehicle's location with first responders in the case when a collision is detected."
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"Responding to Subaru's example of notifying first responders about a collision, Curry notes that would hardly require a year's worth of location history."

Subaru Security Flaws Exposed Its System for Tracking Millions of Cars

Now-fixed web bugs allowed hackers to remotely unlock and start any of millions of Subarus. More disturbingly, they could also access at least a year of cars’ location histories—and Subaru employees still can.

www.wired.com

 

[manumuskin]

My car has been doing this since I got it in 2013 but it's something I can turn off or set for various speeds.I have mine set to beep if I go more then 5 mph over the speed limit and I use my cruise control on any road 50 mph or over to keep me under that speed except the crusise is momentarily broken due to a bad clock spring so thats getting fixed soon,I also have no horn because of this.

 

[RJG]

But John, all GPS units like the Garmin brand (which I still have in my truck) do that. I'm sure you've used them before.

I have a Garmin in my truck too and I actually like it a lot, but you’re right, it does record the time, date and location of every stop you make. You can clear that history, but I rarely remember to that.

 

[RJG]

My 2023 car has all those sensors and alerts and yeah, the braking alerts can be very startling and usually there's no apparent reason. But it's all optional (AFAIK) and you only get the alerts when the assistive options are enabled (like adaptive cruise control). But it's all very confusing, with icons on the screen I still don't understand. I think they just passed a law that all new cars must have automatic braking systems in a few years, didn't they?

Anyway, the primary point I was making was that it makes no difference how old your car is, what sensors it has or whether your cell phone is turned off. License plate readers are tracking you everywhere. I think NYC tracks your EZpass wherever you go, don't they? That was a system they rolled out a number of years ago, to support the congestion pricing scheme that their governor just shot down.

You’re right about the license plate readers. My mom is 86 years old and she donates time each week working at a food bank. Some of the people she works with at the food bank are Avalon policemen. She told me she became concerned when she told two Avalon policemen that her son Bob works in Avalon and they responded with, “Oh yes, we know who he is.” She asked them if I was in some kind of trouble and they laughed and told her they know me because my name frequently pops up on their license plate readers.

 

[RJG]

I'm not. Would definitely ruin my day. What about you?

A speed warning chime in every car? It’s coming, and Americans are onboard

(TestMiles) – Imagine driving down the highway, your favorite tune blasting, when suddenly a chime reminds you you’re over the speed limit. Annoying? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely. And g…

www.wtnh.com

Insurance companies want your speed data so they can charge you higher rates if you routinely exceed the speed limit.

Personally, I don’t like being tracked and monitored. It’s not because I’m doing something wrong, I just think it’s an invasion of privacy. I work in multi-million dollar homes and it took some getting used to knowing that every move and sound I make inside the house is being recorded. One of my sister-in-laws sent out a request to all 17 members of my extended family to join an app that tracks our locations 24/7. I was the only one who refused to participate. They accused me of trying to hide something. Just to be annoying I told them they were right.

 

[Boyd]

But John, all GPS units like the Garmin brand (which I still have in my truck) do that.

but you’re right, it does record the time, date and location of every stop you make

Let's clear this up for people who aren't very familiar with Garmin devices. It's true that they can track everywhere you go and that's how they are configured "out of the box". But you can (and should, IMO) turn all that off. I don't use Garmin devices anymore but have owned a LOT. Was also a moderator at GPSReview.net for many years and currently the only moderator at gpsfiledepot.com.

These are the menus from my Garmin DriveTrack 71, an expensive automotive device I got 7 or 8 years ago. Menus should be similar on other models and I'd be very surprised if you couldn't turn off track recording. That option is probably mandatory in other countries with strict privacy laws.

Press the settings button and choose Device

You should get a screen similar to this

I think turning off Device Data Reporting is a no-brainer, unless you want to help Garmin acheive some higher purpose.

But Travel History is what we're talking about here. I always turn it off, but as the screen says, that will affect some features. Some people like seeing where they've been, which is fine. But those people shouldn't complain about how the GPS invades their privacy.

FWIW, myTrends is a feature they introduced back around 2010(?) which suggests routes based on where you usually go. It was a total disaster in my experience, but maybe it's improved? With it turned on, about 10 minutes into my morning commute it would ask if I wanted to go home.