WSJ: Threat of Privacy When Driving

Do you want Big Brother in your passenger seat?

Since hearing the words from Obi wan Kenobi in Star Wars as a child about bringing balance to the Force, I have always tried to look at two sides of an issue. Unfortunately, with privacy concerns it seems more like when Obi wan in Revenge of The Sith said to Anakin:

“You were supposed to bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness.”

Seems each time a technological advancement is made it erodes our privacy and is never balanced.

Case in point is electric cars. Personally, I am not a huge fan, but I believe there is a place for them but they do not solve all transportation scenarios. There is still the ethical issue around the lifecycle of manufacturing, recycling, and safety, but I will not go on about that today.

The massive issue with electric vehicles (EV) is all the telemetry (data) they collect and how governments are now looking to use that data to tax the EV usage by monitoring every mile you drive.

The issue is EVs don’t pay consumption (fuel) tax like an Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). The governments are missing out on the fuel tax. In Michigan the fuel tax collected in a year is $1.5 Billion dollars. EVs have only put a small dent in that collection of $50 million so far but by 2030 could be as high as $430 million.

Michigan is thinking about a state plan to use Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to track mileage and tax drivers based on road usage. Which means they will know everywhere you go without a warrant. They can count miles with the accuracy of odometers, and they can distinguish between travel on interstate highways, county roads, private land and across state lines.

States could reduce privacy concerns by mandating driving records are erased after a period of time or demand warrants for law-enforcement. But as you know, calls to exploit driver data will be hard to resist. For example:

• Police will say they need the data to catch criminals.

• Insurance companies will seek the data to help set rates.

• Public-health officials will insist on access to enforce future lockdown orders.

• Ideologues will want to know who parked near the wrong political rallies.

Each concession will deliver a massive blow to your personal liberty. And we have not even talk about self driving cars yet! Will you be allowed to drive your own car in the future?

The lyrics of the 1981 song “Red Barchetta” by the Canadian rock band Rush describe the thrill of racing a vintage roadster in a future when driving is illegal. “I commit my weekly crime,” sings vocalist Geddy Lee, in an era governed by “the motor law” and policed by “a gleaming alloy air car.” That dystopian vision seemed a faraway fantasy when the song was written but we know that is where we are heading in the very near future.

I wish picking either an ICE or EV is right for me did not include Big Brother driving with me. Maybe even having both for different types of trips, but when trying to make the decision to embrace an EV comes with the ability for Big Tech and Big Brother to monitor every mile, I will have to take that into serious consideration. Building a 1980 Chev Pickup is in my future.

As the author of the original article states when closing his article,

“Freedom is always subject to wear and tear and sometimes liberty needs a tune-up. But driving the open road—with the windows down and your favorite song blaring from the radio—is almost an American birthright. Putting the pedal to the metal is not yet a crime, but the dystopia in your rearview mirror may be closer than it appears.” - Mr. Miller is director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College.

Links to original article:

Gretchen Whitmer’s Experiment Threatens the Right to Drive - WSJ

Gretchen Whitmer's Experiment Threatens the Right to Drive (msn.com)