December 05, 2005

Mandatory Vehicle GPS

E-tracking, coming to a DMV near you | Perspectives | CNET News.com.

Declan Mccullagh talks about state issued or mandated GPS devices in all vehicles:


The U.S. Department of Transportation has been handing millions of dollars to state governments for GPS-tracking pilot projects designed to track vehicles wherever they go. So far, Washington state and Oregon have received fat federal checks to figure out how to levy these "mileage-based road user fees."

Now electronic tracking and taxing may be coming to a DMV near you. The Office of Transportation Policy Studies, part of the Federal Highway Administration, is about to announce another round of grants totaling some $11 million. A spokeswoman on Friday said the office is "shooting for the end of the year" for the announcement, and more money is expected for GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking efforts.

Posted by nopundit at December 5, 2005 11:45 AM
Comments

An anarcho-capitalist friend of mine envisioned a similiar system installed in all vehicles as a way for assessing tolls on the privately-owned roads in Anarchocapistan.

Seriously, mileage-based road user fees would be a better and more fair means of taxation to maintain the highways if they could do it without violating the privacy of drivers or using the technology as a way for the government to monitor the movements of drivers.

Posted by: Kevin at December 6, 2005 10:50 PM