The carjacker wasn't expecting to get shut down so fast…
While we might think of the government engine kill switches as the next tyrannical addition to the federal arsenal, GM recently found itself in the middle of a story that makes manufacture-controlled killswitch systems seem like a good idea. This all comes after a thief who stole a GM vehicle and decided to try his luck in a police chase, seeming to nearly escape the almost inevitable fate of jail time. However, with cops hot on the trail but struggling to keep up, the department had an idea that would soon eliminate the threat instantly.
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On Saturday night, Police in Fond du Lac County reportedly stated they had received information pertaining to a stolen car. This model had come from one of the nation’s biggest car companies, GM, as did the information surrounding the vehicle’s whereabouts. In fact, the manufacturer had not only been tracking it but also eventually gained control over the automobile’s computer-driven systems. Before they could really do much in terms of controlling the vehicle remotely to avoid an accident, the cops had to get to the car.
After spotting the stolen vehicle, the station informed GM who soon cut power to the engine leading the car to slowly halt. This came despite the driver allegedly pushing the gas pedal as soon as he saw the flashing red and blue. With this technology you can see a few options which may be more appealing to one person or another depending on their level of optimism. On one hand this sort of thing could lead to fewer automotive thefts making it pretty much impossible to ever steal a car again. Of course, on the other hand you have the possibility for a corporation to strand you out in the middle of nowhere, either due to error or malicious intent on the part of the company. Regardless, we're glad this guy didn't get very far in the stolen automobile and we hope the car gets back to its original owner soon.
