From TechDirt comes this intrusion from unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats that believe THEY own your privacy (reformatted, emphasis mine):
To Enforce Emissions Standards, State Governments Are Looking To Ride Shotgun In Constituents’ Vehicles
Californians may find their cars being converted to government informants at some point in the future, thanks to the state’s push to curb emissions. As always, a trip to the land of Unintended Consequences begins at the Port of Good Intentions. Cleaner air and vehicles will come at a cost, and that cost may include an extensive collection of driving data. (via Cato). The On Board Diagnostics computer systems on all of our late-model cars now collect a wide range of information mostly related to a car’s emissions. When something is amiss, your dashboard flashes with a “check engine” light and you head to a repair shop to fix it. The goal is to assure cars aren’t polluting the air. But now the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is proposing regulations(for a May board hearing) requiring manufacturers to significantly expand the kind of information on-board computer software collects about our driving habits.
The software could track miles per gallon, driving distances, how often one stops and starts the car, and how fast one drives. Newer cars already tell us most of this information on those nifty trip computers in the dashboard. The difference, of course, is the regulations would require our cars to also tell government officials the information.
And if you play chess and think out a few moves, you can see where this COULD go. Especially when you start linking in such “benign” sustainability Government programs like the EPA HUD / DOT Sustainable Communities Initiative.
So here’s a few snippets from the post – I urge you to go to the link and read the stuff I’ve left out:
But other states are pushing for even more stringent emissions standards than California’s, and the only way to enforce these appears to be the use of a tracking device. Washington wants a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050. Oregon has mandated a 20% reduction in per capita urban driving. To hit these goals, manufacturers will need to track additional data about vehicle usage and make it accessible to state governments.
The data parameters listed in CARB’s proposal are extensive (p. 42). And it starts with this statement:
Track MPG/CO2 in the real-world
Not just enable easier data logging but actually provide historical data
In practical terms, this means logging of miles driven, fuel used, stops and starts, engine run time, and air conditioner usage. Certainly this data will help manufacturers build more efficient vehicles, but it really has no business being in the government’s hands…abuse of this data is almost guaranteed… But if it’s being used to track down drivers who aren’t driving quite as efficiently as the local government believes they should be, that’s quite another…hello to onboard surveillance.
…With the government tracking this information (and requiring manufacturers to collect it and provide access), law enforcement will no longer need to seek warrants for GPS usage. Instead, they’ll just be able to ask another government agency for driving records or demand them from manufacturers under the Third Party Doctrine.
…This data collection — when tied to emissions restrictions — could have another unintended side effect: taking away citizens’ freedom to choose where they live.Of course, for many it really isn’t about greenhouse gas emissions. Mobility allows (or, as anti-auto groups would say, forces) people to living in low-density “sprawl” where they can escape taxation by cities eager to subsidize stadiums, convention centers, and light-rail lines. All they have to do is ramp down people’s monthly driving rations–something like a cap-and-trade system that steadily reduces the caps–and suburbanites will eventually find that they have to move back to the cities.
After all, is “for the children” and “for the planet”! ANd what do you have against “community” anyways? You don’t need that – all that land for just your single selfish family. You don’t need that car – after all, you can just walk to work and to the stores (and never mind that your Liberty to decide for yourself no longer exists).
You just don’t need that Freedom after all – which is what the automobile gave to millions to go anywhere they wanted and at any time at a relatively low cost…
…and without having to ask Government for permission.
