It’s getting to the point that I am nearly unable to participate in this era of society.

I do not agree with the terms of service from most manufacturers and thus don’t join their product, buy their product, use their products which essentially excludes me from participating in today’s society.

I won’t even own a smart device and reading how many people have had their information misused or critical information stolen based on one-way terms of service which don’t include privacy rights or regulated security requirements (am looking at you Apple and the lack of security regarding IOS and banking).

On a positive note, this leaves me more time to read paper books which -for now- at least aren’t tracking my eye movement and looking for ways to sell me something I didn’t want to begin with.

I was looking at Ford for my next purchase – still many years away – but sadly I won’t be considering any of their offerings and might just invest in upkeep on my older model vehicle until I am no longer able to drive. Guess I just became a light rail supporter thanks to Ford.

One of the big take aways from Techdirt is that “if it can be done, it will be done”. Well, technology is moving quickly (faster than the life of a patent, imagine all that innovation!) into all sorts of places you wouldn’t expect it.

Every car made now (except perhaps some converted ox carts in China) has on board computers and diagnostics. OBD and OBDII are pretty much standards of the automotive universe, and have been for some time. Part of the design of these devices are systems to track and record engine settings, especially if there is a failure or program. To aid diagnostics, they record all sorts of engine parameters, and then turn on the dreaded check engine light for your enjoyment. Yes, they do monitor engine revs, the speedo, braking force, and all sorts of other things.

One of the systems hooked up is the airbag system, which must be monitored to assure that it is armed and ready. It also signals if it has been deployed. Many companies snapshot all parameters when that happens, so they can be read back. Newer boxes actually have a “rolling” memory of the last 5 or 10 seconds that a car is running, which is frozen at the moment of impact hard enough to deploy the airbag. For what it’s worth, On Star uses this to trigger a call to their operators as well as per their commercials.

That black box information, just like on an airplane, is used more and more for criminal cases, for civil cases, and for insurance companies.

It’s a good use of technology that removes a certain amount of doubt in the case of an accident. That the car can tell you it was running 60MPH at the time of impact, with no brakes on, in what was a 30mph zone can be key to everything from criminal liability to insurance claims – and even medical treatment.

So far cars have not been governed or speed limited, but you can picture a point where this could happen. Self driving cars will almost certainly have to have a long memory of their exact positions and actions to avoid product liability issues, and it’s pretty reasonable to think that the same technology will end up in other cars.

Moreover, it’s a good use of technology. I am a huge fan of cars, I love fast cars, I love to drive – but I understand that there are risks that come with speed, especially relative speed to other cars. Even as a big car fan, I cannot imagine the real use for a car that can do 200mph on the street, but they are sold. You can imagine at some point, that will become an issue that will require regulation.

It’s very likely that at some point, you will see GPS related speed limiters on cars, which may limit your speed on surface streets or only allow a certain maximum speed no matter what, as a public safety issue. Technology allows for it, so by Techdirt standards, it will happen.