Great, not only do we have to worry about Big Brother looking over our shoulders, but now a private company, Highway Safety & Technology, wants to help Big Brother nab drivers who are talking on their cell phones. While this technology seems like a logical and fair system for locales that have outlawed the use of cell phones while driving, in-depth analysis of the system reveals more flaws and few benefits.
It’s true that using a cell phone while driving will increase your chance of getting into an auto-collision by more than a few hundred percent. But, relegating the duty of spotting an offender (where it’s actually illegal to use a cell phone while driving – for the most part a non-factor in the US) to a machine is a huge mistake.
First off, the system proposes to detect cell phone use in passing cars. How does this confirm that a driver, not a passenger is using their cell phone? Secondly, the system proposes to use EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) technology to disable the offending cell phone. Wouldn’t that same EMP cause problems for pacemakers, navigation systems, radios, innocent cell phones, and even the vehicle itself? Thirdly, Highway Safety & Technology wants to use a paint gun to “mark” the offending car for identification by highway law enforcement. Talk about a half-baked idea! Would the system use a paintball? If so, would the company be liable for potential damage to the vehicle? And, simply marking the vehicle does not prove that the driver was using the cell phone.
We’re hoping this company’s efforts don’t catch on. Politicians and bureaucrats are smart enough to keep this from happening…aren’t they?
***UPDATE*** Apparently, the company has plans to incorporate a high-speed IR camera to detect cell phone use through the windshield. If the driver is alone, then they are in violation. If there are passengers, then a violation is processed only if the driver has a handset to their ear or earbuds on. Still we see a problem with using earbuds to detect cell phone use – what if the driver is only wearing a headset for convenience while a passenger yaks it up in the back seat? And that problem of “marking” a vehicle is still unacceptable. ***END UPDATE***
[Via: NewLaunches]