This piece of technology is wired into the engine and can not only tell you were the vehicle is, but if it there are any problems, if it has been stolen, if it's speeding, and even if the seat belt is unbuckled! In the video, they went over in detail the different aspects of the technology. It especially displayed the logging feature, detailing how these records can be kept indefinitely (a rather scary thought for potential politicians.)
The website I found went over a number of the different applications for the technology.
Trucking and Transport: know where your trucks are; view milage, speeding, and idling; and improve security.
Survey Fleets (of trucks): know if and when trucks are stolen and recover them quickly, improve driver safety, and record vehicle activity.
--these two are really similar. While they might make the company's life easier, the truck drivers will be held to new standards like not speeding. Maybe it will be positive (like getting paid for all the hours they put in) and maybe it will allow the companies undue control over their employees.
Government: monitor city bus (and other government vehicles) schedules and efficiency.
--this could be really convenient for bus-riders, letting them know if a bus is running early or late and see if they will make their connections. Then again, some citizens might see it as the government starting to become "Big Brother".
Construction: know how the vehicles are being used off the job.
--This could be really useful for the construction companies especially if the car belongs to them and is being loaned to the worker to haul material and stuff. However, if it is actually being leased (as in a part of the worker's money is being exchanged for the use of this car) then it seems less ethical because the car is theirs for all intensive purposes.
Rental Fleets: locate missing or overdue rental cars, know when the car crosses a boarder, speeds, or exceeds milage limits.
--I feel like this is a pretty fair measure for the rental companies to take as long as they notify their users that there is a GPS locator in the car and don't use it unless there is some sort of infraction on the part of the user.
One of the applications GPS Police talked about in one of their promotional videos but don't seem to mention on the rest of their website is using the technology to monitor a young driver or spouse. This might keep the child safe, but it also infringes on their privacy in major ways, giving new fodder to abusive relationships. However, courts have always upheld a parents right to raise their own kids, therefore this is only an ethical question, it has already been decided legally. The lack of trust in the spousal relationship is even more worrisome. Is there any method of notification for the spouse or child?
Thats what I seem to keep coming back to. If the subject knows their location is being collected, it somehow makes it ok. And in my mind that works, if you know someone is watching you, you will try extra hard not to mess up, that's a logical reaction. Then again, the multitude of notifications make the tracking so routine as to allow the subject to forget about its presence. If the subject got a text message for every time they were tracked, their phone would be vibrating 24/7. Perhaps what would be more important than constant notification is original notification and then updates for irregularities (if someone outside the regular loop accesses your location). This might help parents and companies keep the vehicle and its contents safe, while still protecting the subject from stalkers.
It really is a compromise: efficiency for privacy, peace of mind for freedom; and it returns to our generations willingness to let people invade our privacy to give us those benefits.
You raise an issue that has come up in many different contexts: monitoring as both a means of productivity and a means of control. I was involved with a company that developed workflow software that kept track of what had been requested, whether it was done, when it needed doing, etc. On one side it made it much easier to keep track of what needed doing and stay on top of things. On the other it could be used to exercise control over the workers who used it.
ReplyDeleteYou say of the rental car “I feel like this is a pretty fair measure for the rental companies to take as long as they notify their users…” The issue of user awareness/consent comes up for all the uses. But in the case of employees there generally isn’t the option to not consent. Worse would be a case where they don’t know it is installed. But as with all monitoring, knowledge of monitoring has a great “chilling” effect on behavior. If you know your speed is being tracked, you’re a lot less likely to speed, even if they never do anything with the records. As you point out, these issues are very different when the use is in a situation that should be based on trust (in the family).
[[I wrote that last paragraph as I read, and you addressed it all directly in the one following. I left the comment in, mainly as a way of agreeing with your analysis]]
This post is excellent for establishing the basic questions. The last question is exactly right. How will the compromise get determined in the future as the costs and benefits evolve? Would some well-publicized abuse lead to major changes?
I’ll be interested in seeing the story develop as the quarter goes along.
--t
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ReplyDeleteInteresting to read the comments of GPS Police on this blog. I work at GPS Police and we don't get a lot of comments refering to it as "Big Brother" anymore. The real key to this privacy issue is this: GPS based vehicle tracking tracks the vehicle... not the person. Although a person drives the "tracked" vehicle, its really the asset that is being monitored. Most companies own the vehicle driven by its employees so its not required that the employer even tell the driver his property has GPS Tracking.
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