[Alberta's Child]

The rectangular pattern you describe is nothing more than a loop detector embedded in the roadway. Large metro areas use these to measure traffic volumes and estimate average highway speeds for various roadway segments, and they are often tied in to other high-tech devices (like variable-message signs) on the system.

These loop detectors don't monitor individual vehicles in any way -- they just detect a heavy object passing over them, estimate the size of the vehicle, and compute the speed. They are basically high-tech versions of those rubber hoses you sometimes see on roads that are used to count traffic.

[clearsight]

Seems that any of this afore mentioned information that is being gathered can be used for other purposes. It may seem unobtrusive now, but we have all seen how other information gathering techniques begin to creep forward gathering more and more information.
I have read about there being fiber optic type cameras and microphones being placed in all cable ready t.v. sets. I thought "no way", so I asked a recently retired air force intelligence friend of mine and mentioned that you never hear of this method of gathering information on someone presented in the court room.
His ans. to me was: Yes there are tiny tv cameras in all cable ready t.v. sets and microphones and that they in the intelligence agencies love to use that stuff, but they would never divulge in any court room that this method of snooping was used because they must never and willl never compromise to the public the methods they use and have to gather information lest everyone find out.After an answer like that, I will never have cable in my house. I don't care what any of you out there think about my reaction. For-warned is for-armed.