"Black Boxes In Cars"

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

I've driven the Mass Pike a lot recently, but not with EZpass. Even so, with the paper "ticket" they give you when you get on, I presume your entry time is encoded onto that, so when you exit, they could ticket you. I asked around, and was told that Mass law requires a trooper to actually observe you speeding. So, unless the state legislature wants to change the law, it's probably safe, at least in MA. I've never gotten a ticket, but when I do, I want it to say "Doing 110 in a Festiva" and be suitable for framing.

If you want to go fast in your car and never see a stop sign, get an AeroCar or equivalent. Except for within a few miles of tower-controlled airports (a few hundred out of the 12,000+ in the U.S.), you can go up to 288mph (250 knots). Above 10,000 feet, you can go as fast as you like.

[Bert]

From Associated Press as printed in several of today’s newspapers:

WASHINGTON — Many motorists don't know it, but it's likely that every time they get behind the wheel, there's a snitch along for the ride.

The agency is behind the curve. Automakers have been quietly tucking the devices, which automatically record the actions of drivers and the responses of their vehicles in a continuous information loop, into most new vehicles for years..
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that requiring recorders in all new cars and light trucks "will give us the critical insight and information we need to save more lives."

That last sentence really takes the cake. Canada squandered an unbelievable pile of dough on creating a national firearms registry, and politicians and bureaucrats that were in favour spouted almost the same rationale as quoted above. Common folks readily saw through this, as just an insidious avenue for advancing 'people control'. Took ten years and a change of government but ultimately the registry was repealed (as in struck down) on Good Friday of this year.