# Feds Plan To Track our every move electronically. No, I'm not medicated. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181 "2004-10-08T11:54:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181/21 "2004-10-08T23:35:00Z")
What if you’re the type that never buys new cars, could they force you to place the item on a older vehicle? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181/22 "2004-10-09T02:44:37Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > What if you’re the type that never buys new cars, could they force you to place the item on a older vehicle? So long as the vehicle meets current safety and emissions inspection standards, requiring a retrofit seems rather a stretch. Some states don’t require inspection at all for classic, antique, street rod, and other classifications whose annual mileage is restricted. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181/23 "2004-10-09T05:08:46Z")
If you have a GM with OnStar or another vehicle with a similar system, they’re tracking you already, and yet Cadillac seems to be doing alright. Perhaps GM’s salesmen have been persuading them to use their tinfoil hats for a down payment… ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181/24 "2004-10-09T05:27:04Z")
> [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > If you have a GM with OnStar or another vehicle with a similar system, they’re tracking you already, and yet Cadillac seems to be doing alright. They are only able to monitor your location when _you_ activate the service. And they can’t monitor conversations in your vehicle without your consent. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181/25 "2004-10-09T05:41:48Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I used to have Lo-Jack in my Porsche. Do you realize you just admitted that you own a Porsche? :smack: 😃 I don’t understand why anyone would desire the tracking system - I hear all the “omigod, I locked my kid in the car, Onstar please help me” commercials on the radio, of course. Common sense and a cellphone seems like a better way to go. Who wants a car back after it’s been stolen, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181/26 "2004-10-09T10:39:50Z")
Okay, **Bosda** , I have a plan. We meet in LaVergne or Smyrna or alternate Tuesdays and Thurdays and switch cars. I have a Sebring convertible. What do you bring to this arrangement? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181/27 "2004-10-09T12:07:41Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > What if you’re the type that never buys new cars, could they force you to place the item on a older vehicle? I don’t see why not - they did just that to the airplane fleet. Oh, if you’re willing to stay out in the boondocks you can fly your vintage airplane without a transponder, but to approach civilization you either have to have one installed, or go through a bunch of weehocky to get authorization to enter controlled airspace. So, it’s not unusual to see an airplane built in 1920 or 1930 equipped with a transponder (and a GPS). Really, they’re talking about doing to cars and trucks what was done to airplanes quite some time ago (not that that system works perfectly). Imagine if you could drive through, say, Chicago, New York, DC, or Los Angeles without an EDR box in your car… because that’s where this leads. Some parts of this do seem… reasonable. Like having your side of the story in a crash confirmed. It might cut down on speeding and tailgating. Quite location of crashes. But some of the rest of it… what if I don’t want to buy the “services” and “upgrades” offered? Last time I bought a car I freaked out the saleman because I _refused_ powered windows and a kick-butt sound system. “But you can afford this!” Yes, I could _afford_ to buy much more car than I did… but that’s NOT what I wanted to spend my money on. Just as I don’t buy cable TV or cases of beer. And yes, I AM creeped out by the government knowing where I go whenever I go there. Guess the old bicycle is going to get much more of a workout in the future. Anyhow - they can talk all they want. I’m curious about the _maintenance_ aspects of all this. Those roadside sensors - how well will they survive Minnesota winters and Texas summers? Florida hurricaines? California earthquakes? Random vandals? What about the data-crunching system? How robust? How prone to failure? And why the _[censored]_ are we spending bucks on this when the roads are crap anyhow? Can we get some pavement, first? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181/28 "2004-10-09T12:50:17Z")
> [@Blonde](#): > > Do you realize you just admitted that you own a Porsche? :smack: 😃 Not anymore. I needed something that would carry my stuff, so I sold it and got a Cherokee. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-plan-to-track-our-every-move-electronically-no-im-not-medicated/268181.md?page=1)