A page linked from the article (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zLaBRWMSSnjGzMOpoZwUSw_H...) cites a $4/day rental fee for the equipment, which works out to roughly $120/month. I understand there are assistance programs promised by the article. Can someone in the space help me understand this pricing model? Seems high to me.
The faq also claims there are no civil liberties implications for this since people use gps for maps anyway. There is no government infrastructure to regularly inspect my gps mapping software's correct operation, unlike the speed limiter. It's unclear what kind of data exchange happens during inspection and what the implications are for other, non-speeding drivers of the car.
Don't get me wrong, I despise speeders. I regularly compete in sanctioned motorsport and I find that the more I do, the less sympathy I have for driving badly in public roadways. I wouldn't bat an eye at a system that mechanically governs a vehicle, without the possibility of data exchange, to the maximum speed limit in the state (or a value decided by a judge). This gps system seems too easy to abuse.
I'd love to hear more about the claimed statistic of 75% of suspended drivers continuing to drive. I'm surprised that addressing this has jumped to requiring modification of vehicles and GPS surveillance. What other ways of improving compliance with suspension have been tried? Why do drivers ignore the suspension?
The pricing is high for the same reason ignition interlock rental fees are high: because they have a captive market and nobody can stop them from charging whatever the hell they want. Once the first couple vendors are certified they lobby hard to make sure the state doesn't certify too many more, which would create competition, and result in reasonable prices.
I’d be surprised if only 75% of suspended drivers continue to drive. I’d expect that to be 90% or more (at least for those aged 21-65).
Drivers ignore the suspension because the chances of being pulled over are extremely low.
I’m not a crazy driver, but I am usually moving with a purpose and get pulled over about once every five to seven years. That might be 40 or 50K miles between stops. Someone can get a lot of life things done in 50K miles and finding alternatives for each of those miles may rationally be less appealing than fading the risk of being caught while suspended.
If your license plate is flagged as being associated with a suspended license, I suspect your rate of being stopped will increase significantly. In my area, the police blotter is filled with ALPR hits triggering traffic stops due to suspended license. Good!
The faq also claims there are no civil liberties implications for this since people use gps for maps anyway. There is no government infrastructure to regularly inspect my gps mapping software's correct operation, unlike the speed limiter. It's unclear what kind of data exchange happens during inspection and what the implications are for other, non-speeding drivers of the car.
Don't get me wrong, I despise speeders. I regularly compete in sanctioned motorsport and I find that the more I do, the less sympathy I have for driving badly in public roadways. I wouldn't bat an eye at a system that mechanically governs a vehicle, without the possibility of data exchange, to the maximum speed limit in the state (or a value decided by a judge). This gps system seems too easy to abuse.
I'd love to hear more about the claimed statistic of 75% of suspended drivers continuing to drive. I'm surprised that addressing this has jumped to requiring modification of vehicles and GPS surveillance. What other ways of improving compliance with suspension have been tried? Why do drivers ignore the suspension?