Stop that car!
- TAGS:car, GM Vehicles, GPS, police, pursuit, Technology
- IT TOPICS:Security
I know I’m gonna get some flak for this, but when I heard about it, I just had to share. I read Larry Copeland’s USA Today article "Technology may help police halt hot pursuits" and I had to laugh. Apparently, GM is doing something right during this otherwise turbulent time for car producers. OnStar, GM’s GPS manufacturing unit, now offers Stolen Vehicle Slowdown technology. What an uncanny technology. Can you imagine the grimaces you’d see on a car thief’s face when he can’t get the car to go over say five miles per hour? That’s what’ll happen when the OnStar operator signals the car to restrict its fuel flow. This isn’t just 007 stuff, it’s here now.
That’s right; Copeland notes that a GM spokesman says about one million 2009 GM vehicles have the technology already. Another company is testing laser-guided launchers (that attach to police car grills) that can shoot projectiles onto cars being pursued. If the pursued vehicle gets away, GPS can zero in on the projectiles to pinpoint their location.
I love seeing technology put to use to help law enforcement. Just a few years ago this kind of stuff could only be seen in the movies. For us technology geeks, the future is now.
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