GPS in Your Car – The Down Side
As the famous song said, “What goes up must come down.”
And even though having a GPS in your vehicle can be both helpful and a major time and money saver if you use it correctly it also has some potential bad points that may bring it down a notch or two in your eyes.
One of the immediate concerns that people have is that the GPS tracks your every movement and can tell whomever is checking all about your habits. If you are speeding they have no need to clock you on radar, they can just send you a ticket; sounds like fantasy but it’s not too far from becoming fact.
The amount of information that is collected by these GPS units can be stored by whoever is gathering the data and saved, and can be used at a later time and for something that is completely not what the user had wanted or intended.
If the police get hold of your speed off of the GPS there is no way that you will be able to contest the ticket and the fine since it is your car and not the one behind you, as could be argued with radar gun tickets.
Also, as the quality of technology changes, the ability of someone to remotely do things to you inside the vehicle comes into play. How about the person on the other end of the GPS system, like On Star for example being able to lock or unlock you in a car? Or start or shut off your car should they deem it needed?
Every one of these seem like something from a science fiction novel and yet they are documented. A gentleman rented a car from Acme Rent a Car and added on the GPS package for convenience while traveling. The unit actually stored data as he drove and the next month, after returning home he found himself with a bill in the mail from the car company because the GPS calculated that he had been speeding. The amount of that bill was $450. Notice that this was not even a police ticket, merely a bill from the rental car place because he was going too fast. He fought it and did finally win the case but it certainly raises some well- founded concerns.
What is even more disturbing to me is that the courts in the case, while not making him pay the bill, also didn’t see anything wrong with the company doing that. They did not consider it an invasion of privacy or any type of violation of his rights as a renter.
There are a lot of positive advances in technology that actually help us and make our lives or the enjoyment of our lives more pronounced. However, we also have to be aware that anything can be used in a negative or bad way and it is up to us, as consumers, to help keep track of what is going on with and to us.
Although built-in car GPS units are not covered by extended auto warranties, there are many items that are, including airbag coverage. Visit the Warranty Direct web site – find out what is covered on your car, and get a free, instant quote for extended auto warranty coverage.
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Filed under: Car Accessories
GPS is very useful specially the ones that are put on the Car dashboard. it can really help you drive on unfamiliar places.”;: