Screw Fas-Trak, pay cash, potential problem solved.Yeah, I know Fas-Trak get you through the toll booth faster, but if you're REALLY concerned, spend a few extra minutes & pay cash.
Posted on 08/10/2002 1:32:09 PM PDT by hattend
OAKLAND, Calif - A new $37 million system will soon track drivers' movements along highways in Northern California -- whether they like it or not.
The traffic sensor system, which should begin operating next month, will make it possible to provide realtime information about some of the nation's worst congestion to drivers through their cell phones, over the airwaves and on the Internet, and gather better data for transportation planners.
But despite government assurances, it's also raising fears that drivers' privacy will be invaded.
Similar to systems in Houston and New York, the project will track electronic toll payment devices affixed to the windshields of more than 250,000 vehicles, using radio-based sensors mounted on highway signs every few miles.
And to the dismay of some FasTrak users, it's not optional -- the only way to avoid triggering the sensors throughout nine Bay Area counties is to stash the transponder in Mylar bags, which will be provided to nervous motorists.
Project leaders at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission say they're not interested in the movements of individual drivers, and have gone to great lengths to protect privacy, including encrypting the serial number of each transponder as its location is transmitted. They promise to keep this data separate from the identities of FasTrak users and other information needed to make automatic monthly deductions from their bank or credit card accounts.
"We're not tracking or trying to follow any individual car, just the overall traffic flow," TravInfo project manager Michael Berman said. "We're really trying to bend over backward to make sure we don't know."
But some drivers say having a more detailed traffic report isn't worth the sense that someone's watching.
"I personally am a little creeped out by it," said interior designer Heidi Hirvonen-White, who crosses the Golden Gate Bridge up to twice a day commuting between Tiburon and San Francisco. "In today's society it seems like any sort of code or whatnot can be broken."
Those in the Intelligent Transportation Industry, also known as automotive telematics, say the Bay Area's "TravInfo" project is only the latest example of the growing phenomenon of remote monitoring.
Many rental fleets and big rig companies already use satellites and global positioning systems to track cars and cargo. Companies are promoting similar products to consumers who want to track their kids, Alzheimer's patients or cheating spouses.
By October, the Federal Communications Commission wants all cell phones equipped with locator technology to help emergency response teams find callers. The change will enable authorities to track where users go, and possibly even track road speeds based on how long it takes the phone signal to go from point A to B, said Ray Grefe, vice president of business development for telematics software company Televoke.
"I think there are going to be some nasty court battles that come out of all of this stuff," Grefe said.
Information about when drivers pass through toll booths already has been used in court -- such as the 1997 case in which E-Z Pass records helped show what kidnappers did to New Jersey restaurant millionaire Nelson Gross, whose BMW crossed the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan, where his car and beaten body were found.
And a Connecticut rental car company, after consumer complaints, stopped automatically deducting $150 from renters' bank or credit accounts each time a global positioning satellite system showed they were speeding.
Berman emphasized that the Bay Area system won't be used for such things as tracking hit-and-run suspects, kidnappers or car thieves who happen to have FasTrak in their cars, let alone adulterers.
The MTC -- along with its partners, the California Highway Patrol and the state transportation department -- has received no requests from law enforcement to tweak the system so drivers could be pursued, Berman said, adding, "I think if they were to request it, we would say no. That's not our job."
But privacy advocates see a slippery slope -- they say that once the sensors are in place, there's nothing to prevent such a change. And new laws imposed after Sept. 11 make it much easier for police to obtain such information.
"Yes, they're building in limitations on the data use, but there's nothing to prevent them from changing the policies in the future," said Beth Givens, director of the San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Here's how the California system works:
Each sensor has two antennas. One continually sends out a radio pulse that "wakes up" when it hits a passing FasTrak transponder. The other antenna notes the transponder's serial number, and transmits it, using encryption, via cellular modem to the MTC's Travel Information Center in Oakland.
Transponders beep as cars pass through toll plazas, but will remain silent when they pass the sensors.
All record of serials numbers stored in electronic files will be destroyed daily, leaving only general averages and patterns for later study, Berman said.
In Texas, the system is a hit among the 1.5 million commuters who use the agency's traffic information service daily, according to Artee Jones, a spokesman for Houston TranStar, who stressed that similar privacy measures are in place there.
"The reality is many people are not aware that they're even participating in the program," Jones said.
While some FasTrak users remain troubled, few said they'd give up the shorter line -- and an upcoming toll discount on the Golden Gate Bridge -- to avoid participating.
Michael Pieri of Richmond said he has nothing to hide, but he'll still stash the transponder away between tolls.
"That's fine if you volunteer for that," he said. "But involuntarily, I don't think it's a good thing at all."
The MTC -- along with its partners, the California Highway Patrol and the state transportation department -- has received no requests from law enforcement to tweak the system so drivers could be pursued, Berman said, adding, "I think if they were to request it, we would say no. That's not our job."
At least for awhile, when the system has been in service for awhile and the controversy has died off, then we can institute the individual tracking part of the system and no one will notice.
You just have to let people get used to it, let some time pass. Then when no one is looking,
BAM
you spring the trap.
I wonder if the cell phone needs to be turned on to be tracked?
No it doesnt. The only way to avoid the cell phone tracking, is to remove the battery from the phone. Every Cell phone transmits its identification number and cell location every 20 minutes whether the phone is on or not.
Bwhahahahahaha! If only that was the real problem in California these days.
So, take the batteries out when you want privacy in your wherabouts. A, leave them in and send the phone somewhere with a friend when you need an alibi?
Hmmm ..... seems to give some validity to tinfoil hats.
Screw Fas-Trak, pay cash, potential problem solved.Yeah, I know Fas-Trak get you through the toll booth faster, but if you're REALLY concerned, spend a few extra minutes & pay cash.
This is just a California expression of their socialist need to be Big Brother.
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