RAD

Given the recent thread on navigation, would anybody else like to track their vehicle via the web? Kind of like the flighttracker programs--to be able to see the car's location, speed, etc.

Given the GPS capabilities with Tele-Aid, others can no doubt do this. And aftermarket kits are of course available. But it seems to me that it would be a small step to develop a web-based app--maybe something akin to what the Tele-Aid employees already use.

Anyone else interested in something like this?

DWP

Our E500 is my wife's daily ride, so SIGN ME UP! But seriously. Based on what little I know of Tele-Aid, they query the car for its location only when somebody with apparent authority to do so initiates a request - like, when you call and ask for directions, or when you report the car stolen. The car doesn't broadcast its location to anywhere in the public domain. We wouldn't stand for it if it did. The flip side of this locational privacy is that Tele-Aid and DCX aren't very likely to open up the system and share the ability to query a car's location. Besides the privacy issue, people would have a lot less incentive to renew their subscriptions if they could query their car's location for free.

RAD

Understood, and I wasn't suggesting for free. I know that our vehicles don't braodcast their location--my point was that the hardware infrastructure is in place to set up a system to utilize it. Of course, there are security issues involved--I don't want just ANYONE knowing where my car is--but those security issues are easy to overcome.

I think such a system would be the coolest! I mentioned it once to a service advisor in Atlanta who knew of nothing in the works, though.

rkwjr

I saw a report on one of the television news shows awhile ago about a father who had installed a vehicle tracking system in his daughter’s car. Something like the following:
http://www.covert-gps-vehicle-tracking-systems.com/

They were filming him as he sat as his computer and tracked her. He could even tell if she was speeding.

RAD

Exactly. I read or saw the same thing. Since it seems like the COMAND equipped cars have the hardware end already done, I'd like to see MBUSA come out with a web application. It could be marketed as a security feature.

ATS

How about installing leg bracelets so you can track your family.. hehe..

rkwjr

Leg bracelets are too bulky. I am going with the implants.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=...&u_sid=1176189

RAD

atssystems,

You laugh, but it's seriously only a matter of time! Location-based technologies is just something I'm interested in. For me, it's the Next Big Thing. Examples are already out there, but are in their infancy. To know where anything is--inventory, assets, people--at any time, and also how to get to them, or get them to you--will revolutionize people's lives.

As to the "leg bracelets," there will be better deployments. How about a GPS chip in your watch? Or a chip embedded under your skin? (this is already being done with livestock; and with people too (see post above for link).

Do you have kids? This sort of thing is only a further manifestation of cell phones as far as knowing where people (or other things) are.

Imagine this scenario: your teenage daughter is driving home one night on an empty two lane road and runs out of gas.

1950s: She waits for another passing car, or walks to the nearest phone. In any event, you're up late worrying and have no idea.

1990s: She calls you from her cell phone and you run out to pick her up

2000s: She presses the Tele-Aid (or, God forbid, The OnStar) button and help is on the way.

20xxs: You can see her driving on said road mapped on your computer screen, and information about her car and trip: speed, direction, and FUEL LEVEL is all seen before you. You call your daughter on the phone and tell her to go to the nearest fuel station and fill up. She finds the nearest one using the POIs in her COMAND (or other NAV) system and the whole situation is averted entirely.

I don't want to sound like a micromanaging control freak , but I do see the improved safety/security possibilities. Not to mention I'm just a data junkie at heart.

ATS

Yeah of course it is going to happen. Imagine the police being able to identify who was where when a crime was commited.

Anyways.. It still makes me sick..

RAD

I hear you. There are definitely privacy issues involved. But as it appears inevitable, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

DWP

Here's a scenario to illustrate why DCX isn't likely to make vehicle tracking information available to owners upon request, at any price, any time soon. Let's say that you're a woman married to a Scott Peterson type (yeah, I know, but try to work with me here, OK?). The car is in both your names but it's his daily ride. You go to whereisourcar.com during the day and discover that it's parked at the NoTell Motel. So, of course, you grab a piece from the bedside table and head out to the motel to settle scores with him and his hussy, once and for all. DCX doesn't need the kind of legal grief they would get from that scenario playing out. There's a good reason why, if TeleAid locates a car that's reported stolen, they will report its location to the police but not to you. The last thing they need, in terms of liability, is the violated owner organizing a posse of his buds to go and dispense some instant street justice to the thieves.

ATS

They would be dragged into court as they provided the info.. A big mess..

RAD

I'm not an attorney, but I've gotta disagree. First, DCX's attorneys, I'm sure, would imagine such a scenario and make it clear in the fine print up front that signing on to whereisourcar.com releases them from any liability.

Second, these systems already exist. In fact, the site at http://www.covert-gps-vehicle-tracking-systems.com/ explicity states "Who uses Vehicle Tracking Systems: Private investigators, law enforcement agencies, employers, fleet operators, parents, and suspicious spouses." Clearly they are selling just that angle, and they apparently aren't worried about being drug into any lawsuit.

DWP

The hussy, or even any thieves beaten up by the posse, would not be parties to any waivers of liability signed by the owners. DCX wouldn't be worrying about the owners suing; they would be worried about third parties. I have no idea if the makers of aftermarket tracking solutions have thought it all through; it's very possible that they have not.

RAD

I understand now that you are referring to the "hussy" or "thieves," but I still maintain that 1) these systems that exist were'nt built yesterday, and thus the companies making them would've already become involved, and 2) there is no law that I know of that prohibits someone from knowing where someone else is, given their consent. If others are in the proximity of said individual, then that's their problem.

Mr. Xristo

Are you kidding me? talk about illegal; not to mention her self-esteem and trust issues.

cschow

The privacy implications of such a system are huge. Sadly, I think we're already well on our way there. I have heard that OBD-3 will permit scanners to wirelessly scan, e.g., 8 lanes of traffic passing through a scan point at 100 mph. Not only could such a system identify polluters as originally envisioned, but there is enough data there to see whether you're speeding, and given enough scanners, track location as well.

E55AMG99

As a parent of a 15 year old and a 12 year old, I am hoping that the technology advances to my price point really soon. I know at least one company that is testing a real-time 2-way satellite based system right now. If they can reduce it to cell phone size, get the up front cost under $500 per unit, I'd be willing to pay $50 a month to know where my kids are (car anyway) and how they are/have been driving.

I think it would be huge if they could get the automakers to include this technology in the cars from the factory. They alreaydy have everything they need except the satellite transmitter.

ATS

Trust me you do not want a system like this. People should not create a demand for this.

Just think, insurance companies would use this to know how fast you drive, how many miles, etc...

It is a pure and complete invasion of privacy.

E55AMG99

What have you got to hide?

ATS

Nothing.. Are you kidding?

Okay.. Here we go.

"Hi E55AMG99, I am calling from insurance company A and I noticed you travelling 155MPH on the highway last night. We have cancelled your insurance and this information is on file for all to see in the future. Also, since our system is tied into the police system, your licence has been terminated. You will be getting a call from them as well in the next few days" Or, at first it wil be "We are now raising your rates to 4 times the current rate". The list is endless.. You are kidding right..?

E55AMG99

So it's OK to break the law if you don't get caught?

Barry45RPM

Do you pay every penny in Income taxes, or do you hire an accountant to "aggressively" go thru your papers so you will pay the least amount without raising red flags?

Do you drive 15 MPH in a "school Zone? 15MPH...16+ is "speeding" you know.

No, its not OK to "break the law", but everyone could be caught breaking the law every day if they were being looked at constantly, and all that was necessary was to look thru the recorded observations by a computer. They could probably eliminate income taxes altogether & support the government with the "speeding" fines alone.

ATS

This is coming from a guy who posted this in another thread..

E55AMG99 Post:
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by NastyAluQuadra
Really? I thought they are all just limited to 155mph.



We picked up a US spec 2003 S500 at the factory last summer and found it very annoying to be limited to 135 on EU highways.

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Obviously you want to argue.. Get a grip and stop wasting my time.

E55AMG99

The tax laws are subject to some interpretation but fortunately, I am not in a situation where there is any doubt about what I owe so I pay it.

Yes, I do drive the speed limit (within the reasonable error limits of automobile speedometers) in school zones and other city streets. Why don't you?

For a law enforcement agency to fine someone by looking through computer records after the fact, they must also have proof that they know who to fine in the first place. Just like with photo tickets, they need to prove you were behind the wheel when the law was broken.

If they could somehow manage to prove who was behind the wheel, do you really think the courts would be able to process such a huge amount of paperwork? Today, cops use their best judgement and free will to decide who they target. They could pull over car after car and write 25x the tickets they write every day for things like failure to signal a lane change, 5MPH over the limit, etc. Judges begin to get pissed off at cops who eat up so much court time with petty offenses.

The same thing would happen with the future you fear. No one would ever find it reasonable to cite a driver for occasionaly going 70 in a 65 or 28 in a 25. After all, remember who the majority of judges are.