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Can't say I disagree with this one...
California is expected to enact a law next month which will prohibit car rental companies from using the GPS units installed in some of their u-drive-its to enforce restrictions -* such as speeding and no-out-of-state driving - in their rental agreements.
Even the big car rental companies like Hertz, Avis/Budget, Enterprise, and Alamo/National are supporting the bill, along with consumer groups, the California attorney general and the ACLU.
The legislation came about as a result, naturally, of abuses of GPS installations by some rental outfits. These renegades were using the technology to track cars straying out of California to relatively nearby Nevada gambling and tourist centers Reno and Las Vegas. They also were measuring excessive speed by comparing successive GPS locations against the clock.
According to the bill's sponsor, California Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett, these rental companies were then assessing "thousands of dollars in extra fees" against unwary miscreants who had signed rental agreements with the restrictions. The bill, she said, "protects consumers' privacy from invasive electronic surveillance."
Her last comment indirectly raises questions about how legislators may regard Event Data Recorders (EDRs), which are becoming more commonplace for safety and litigation matters. EDRs will be the subject of a forthcoming TCC in-depth report.
A spokesman for Hertz, the largest car rental company, said they supported the final GPS bill after modifications from original proposals "to find a balance" in practical operations. He noted, for example, that Hertz has found GPS useful to police in locating stolen high-end rental cars.
A few years ago I strayed across the California line to Reno in an el cheapo u-drive-it - i.e., not GPS-equipped - to report for TCC on Harrah's Auto Museum. I was mindful of the rental agreement restriction (although it had not been disclosed when I made my online reservation) and just kept my fingers crossed that I wouldn't be nailed in a Nevada fender-bender, disclosing my line-crossing sin.
But the new legislation only covers abusive use of GPS, rather than the restrictive rental agreements.-Mike Davis
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?n=173&sid=173&article=7294
California is expected to enact a law next month which will prohibit car rental companies from using the GPS units installed in some of their u-drive-its to enforce restrictions -* such as speeding and no-out-of-state driving - in their rental agreements.
Even the big car rental companies like Hertz, Avis/Budget, Enterprise, and Alamo/National are supporting the bill, along with consumer groups, the California attorney general and the ACLU.
The legislation came about as a result, naturally, of abuses of GPS installations by some rental outfits. These renegades were using the technology to track cars straying out of California to relatively nearby Nevada gambling and tourist centers Reno and Las Vegas. They also were measuring excessive speed by comparing successive GPS locations against the clock.
According to the bill's sponsor, California Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett, these rental companies were then assessing "thousands of dollars in extra fees" against unwary miscreants who had signed rental agreements with the restrictions. The bill, she said, "protects consumers' privacy from invasive electronic surveillance."
Her last comment indirectly raises questions about how legislators may regard Event Data Recorders (EDRs), which are becoming more commonplace for safety and litigation matters. EDRs will be the subject of a forthcoming TCC in-depth report.
A spokesman for Hertz, the largest car rental company, said they supported the final GPS bill after modifications from original proposals "to find a balance" in practical operations. He noted, for example, that Hertz has found GPS useful to police in locating stolen high-end rental cars.
A few years ago I strayed across the California line to Reno in an el cheapo u-drive-it - i.e., not GPS-equipped - to report for TCC on Harrah's Auto Museum. I was mindful of the rental agreement restriction (although it had not been disclosed when I made my online reservation) and just kept my fingers crossed that I wouldn't be nailed in a Nevada fender-bender, disclosing my line-crossing sin.
But the new legislation only covers abusive use of GPS, rather than the restrictive rental agreements.-Mike Davis
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?n=173&sid=173&article=7294
