Big Brother Roadways
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Big Brother roadways
One of the initial concerns about the state’s new all-electronic tolling system on the Mass Pike and elsewhere was that law enforcement officials could actually track the speed of motorists driving under the huge sensor-stuffed gantries that will replace toll booths. Now it turns out that law enforcement officials, via a “hot list” feature on the new gantries, can and will track specific license plates or transponder passes that drive under the new toll systems, reports the Globe’s Matt Rocheleau. Officials say that “hot list” will only track vehicles in public safety emergencies. But civil liberty advocates are alarmed. “There’s a real possibility for abuse and misuse with this kind of technology,” said Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. “We need to discuss this publicly. We need outside legal experts to be involved in helping MassDOT set appropriate policies that won’t violate people’s rights.”
Not to harp on the issue, but the same civil liberty concerns apply to the proposed VMT (vehicles miles traveled) tax idea that Gov. Charlie Baker just recently vetoed, to the chagrin of some public policy wonks, like former Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation president Michael Widmer, who recently penned a piece at CommonWealth magazine bemoaning Baker’s nixing a study on taxing motorists by how much they drive.
One of the initial concerns about the state’s new all-electronic tolling system on the Mass Pike and elsewhere was that law enforcement officials could actually track the speed of motorists driving under the huge sensor-stuffed gantries that will replace toll booths. Now it turns out that law enforcement officials, via a “hot list” feature on the new gantries, can and will track specific license plates or transponder passes that drive under the new toll systems, reports the Globe’s Matt Rocheleau. Officials say that “hot list” will only track vehicles in public safety emergencies. But civil liberty advocates are alarmed. “There’s a real possibility for abuse and misuse with this kind of technology,” said Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. “We need to discuss this publicly. We need outside legal experts to be involved in helping MassDOT set appropriate policies that won’t violate people’s rights.”
Not to harp on the issue, but the same civil liberty concerns apply to the proposed VMT (vehicles miles traveled) tax idea that Gov. Charlie Baker just recently vetoed, to the chagrin of some public policy wonks, like former Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation president Michael Widmer, who recently penned a piece at CommonWealth magazine bemoaning Baker’s nixing a study on taxing motorists by how much they drive.
But think about it: A VMT would require motorists to report to the government exactly how many miles they drive per year in order to assess a tax. Combined with “hot wire” and other roadway sensors, cameras and other gadgets, government officials would then have the capability of knowing how many miles people drive, where they drive, when they drive and even how they drive – all in the name of roadway revenues and public safety. And, of course, they’ll also be able to determine whether or not drivers take shortcuts to destinations, assuming one day officials start to subpoena Waze traffic-direction software, another reason why George Donnelly, writing in the Globe, should ignore his wife’s advice about following the Voice of Waze.
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