The Connecticut Legislature is considering a bill mandating RFIDs be atttached to all vehicles so they can be tracked continually.
“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.”
— Dilemma for Winston Smith and others, George Orwell, 1984
I think the cost of starting up and maintaining a system like that would cost more than any revenue they might raise. That assumes it would work, which it probably wouldn’t.
Of course, once the State can track your car, they will want to do it all the time and the possibilities for misuse against political enemies is obvious.
I just see the benefits outweighing the downside. First of all how far do you think you’re going to get if you just stole a car that’s been tracked by just about every intersection you went through? What about assigned parking spaces only allowing those assigned to the space to park there? Or a car finder for when you’ve parked somewhere and you don’t remember where exactly and forgot to set the last known location and can simply ask your phone where it is by the RFID of your car? It would also make certain jobs easier, like vehicle repossessing. Yes I know this could lead to RFID chipping people and can be open to abuse, but then why not simply put laws in place that make it illegal to use the data for certain purposes and harsh sentences for when it is?
Ever been to a casino in Las Vegas? You were tracked by face and your body everywhere you went. Once you signed up for that player card or used the atm machine or paid for anything with a credit/debit card while in the casino they were then able to know who you actually are and your tracking file now has your name on it. I wouldn’t even be surprised if all the tracking information is shared amongst all the casinos and law enforcement without a single warrant required to be issued.
Imagine also the possibilities with realtime package tracking. Some package falls off a truck or gets stolen out of a truck and the driver might not necessarily know it happened until the delivery point is reached, unless a RFID tag set off a proximity alarm when it was removed from the truck for not being anywhere near the actual location it’s supposed to be delivered to that is.
Your belief in the inherent goodness of government not to abuse something like this is touching indeed.
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