By Lee Han Shih, Business Times, September 25, 2001
JAMES Turner, a 44-year-old American, will go down in history as the first man to be caught speeding in a rented car by a GPS (Global Positioning System) device. Therein lies a warning for all of us.
Mr Turner rented a car from Acme Rent-a-Car in New Haven, Connecticut. He then drove it at between 126 kmph and 134 kmph across three states, and was not detected by the police. Unfortunately, the GPS device on his car recorded everything. For Mr Turner, it meant a fine of US$450 per violation. The three digitally recorded violations automatically added US$150 each (for each of the three states he travelled) to his bill. For other drivers, this could mean the 'Big Brother' era has started.
GPS itself, in which a cluster of satellites encircle the earth and provide the precise location of a moving vehicle or aircraft, was built to guide aircraft. But like so many other gadgets, it has since evolved to be a standard feature in many other products.
Mountain climbers and hitch-hikers use GPS. So do soldiers from many countries. If GPS is to have a natural home on land, it has to be in cars. It is as though GPS and cars were made for each other. In America, Japan and some other countries, many cars now have onboard GPS systems which, coupled with a map-displaying monitor, can guide drivers along unfamiliar roads.
In addition, an arrangement with petrol station chains (such as Exxon or Caltex) could allow motorists to get cashless petrol refills, with the cost added to their bills.
GPS is even more useful in rented cars. As noted earlier, the GPS device enables the rental firm to monitor the customer's traffic violations and pass those bills to the violator, instead of absorbing them. If things stop here, GPS will be no more than a nuisance to speeding drivers. But it may not stop here, especially now, in the wake of the World Trade Centre attacks.
It is always tempting for governments to use the latest monitoring technology. With terrorism now a real threat, it could now be argued that the monitoring devices would be needed to protect innocent citizens.
So how long will it take before GPS moves from rented cars to all cars? And how long before GPS readings are used to monitor all drivers, and not just those driving rented cars?
Monitoring means collecting information, and information is worth money. At the moment, when a car leaves the factory, it is no longer in the control of the carmaker. GPS changes everything. Just imagine how much General Motors, Toyota or Volkswagon will pay to know how much each of their models are being used, how fast and how far they are driven, and to which places.
But then, why should such information be kept only to car makers? Drivers, by definition, are a more affluent lot, and an analysis of their movements is worth a lot of money to insurance companies, operators of shopping malls and restaurants, and banks. All of them stand to benefit from having detailed knowledge of such movements.
What about Singapore? As it is, the movement of a great proportion of vehicles is monitored by the ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) system. We are moving towards a charge-by-usage model on our roads. The system could possibly blanket the entire island and monitor movements. From there it is only another small step to mandate GPS in all vehicles to monitor or control speed.
It is worth speculating what the authorities could do with the huge amount of information they can collect from the ERP and the future GPS. Would they sell it to the private sector? Or just keep it for future reference?