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Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

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Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#341

Post by bluescrn »

Whinner wrote: post #231
peoplearepeople wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it's completely ridiculous that police think this is a car manufacturer issue. This is a failure of the police

I don't think you realize how easy it is to steal these cars. Look up a few videos. You rip off the plastic on the steering column, pry out the ignition cylinder and then use the A end of a usb cable to turn the exposed nub to start the car. Under 30 seconds. While there are other issues going on, this is gross negligence on Kia/Hyundai to not use an immobilizer.

It shouldn't really matter that theft is easy. If you're prepared to smash a window, you could steal from homes and businesses, not just cars. There should be a strong enough deterrent to make it uncommon.

You may not be able to stop desparate people from stealing, but if kids are repeatedly stealing cars for entertainment, then problem isn't the security of the cars.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#342

Post by xkcd-sucks »

plagiarist wrote: post #240
linksnapzz wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not criminal, that's a tort. Baltimore, not being the customer, probably lacks standing.

And Baltimore is asserting they have standing regarding financial damages incurred from policing the thefts. If only there was some way to resolve whether the defendant or plaintiff is the correct party!

But it's established through case law that police aren't obligated to do anything about theft. So the costs of policing thefts would seem to be voluntary, not damages. Interesting to see how it turns out.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#343

Post by pb7 »

carabiner wrote: post #224
pySSK wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

The US has very similar camps in the form of forced labor (i.e. slavery) by prisoners. These slaves have built products in the US that many of us have used, including clothes and office furniture. They make 63 cents per hour - make no mistake, they are slaves .

This is voluntary work for people who have been convicted. I agree they should be paid more though.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#344

Post by prepend »

narag wrote: post #284
aardvarkr wrote: post #8

Lots of comments that didn’t read the article so here’s a good excerpt on why there’s a lawsuit. Baltimore’s lawsuit says the companies “failed to keep up with industry standards,” and claim it was a result of business decisions made to reduce costs and boost profits “notwithstanding decades of academic literature and research supporting the deterrent effects” of anti-theft technology. “The dramatically increased rat…

Lots of comments that didn’t read the article... I didn't read it either... because I'd read a bunch of other articles and watched videos about the problem a couple of months ago. IMHO the root cause is that it's impossible with current legislation/courts practice to deter this kind of behaviour. Specifically: * Many of the perpetrators are minors * Stealing a car, depending on cirsumstances, is a misdemeanor * There…

Auto theft in Maryland is a felony. What are thieves being charged with that’s not a felony?

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#345

Post by HDThoreaun »

bombcar wrote: post #133
HDThoreaun wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ridiculously easy for anyone to steal. If I buy a door I expect the lock to work, that's the value doors provide. If it turns out that the lock actually does nothing I would consider myself defrauded by the door manufacturer unless they specifically told me that the lock doesn't work.

Go watch the LockPickingLawyer - some of it is skill, but there's a lot of product out there that's painfully easy to bypass.

People have baseline expectations when they buy a product. If you buy a lock the expectation is that you need some level of skill to steal it. If it turns out that anyone can just pull the lock open you've been defrauded by the lock seller. But if the lockpicklawyer opens it you haven't, because no one expects locks to be unpickable.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#346

Post by alphanullmeric »

Convolutional wrote: post #185

I should point out to those not from the US that this is how Americans view the US. There is a lot of crime, the government and NGOs are on the side of the criminals etc. It is up voted to the top as well, with agreement in the replies, this is how Americans view the US. The US incarcerates more people than China, despite China having more than four times as many people, but the view obviously is the incarceration ra…

Think of the poor thieves. Stealing is a basic human right! Hopefully we can spread the word to looters across the country that the EU will welcome them with open arms.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#347

Post by alphanullmeric »

leothecool wrote: post #298
JPKab wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So those outside the US can get insights into what the US is and how it thinks from threads like this. No, everyone outside of your head can get insights into your willingness to cherrypick a single comment and extrapolate to fit your pessimistic, hyper-critical mental model. It's also interesting how you talk about incarceration rates independently of crime rates, and act as if the US is prosecuting and incarcerat…

> the US is prosecuting and incarcerating broad swathes of innocent people. There's about half a million people in jail right now who haven't been convicted of a crime. Some of them are innocent, for sure.

[flagged]

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#348

Post by HPsquared »

HDThoreaun wrote: post #326
prmoustache wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently incarceration and death penalty do not really work as a deterrent in this country. Is it because most of the violent crimes are related to drug addiction?

Prison isn't supposed to be a deterrent in this country. It's to separate the criminals from everyone else.

Not mutually exclusive.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#349

Post by alphanullmeric »

hoofhearted wrote: post #160
local_crmdgeon wrote: post #140

The City of Baltimore has repeatedly demonstrated that they will do anything besides try to change the behavior of the population. It's a failed city, and luckily the model is being exported to places like SF, LA, and DC. Why should we punish people who repeatedly commit crime anyway? Fuck it, why do anything? Let's sue Kia instead, maybe we can get a payday

It’s a little early to be drinking isn’t it? The city is suing to recover the money they spent on all the police efforts expended because Kia cut corners to reduce costs.

[flagged]

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#350

Post by ineedasername »

So… is Apple going to be the hook in lawsuits because their phones are so desirable and easy to steal? Heck you don’t even need a screwdriver and usb cable like with the cars.

I should launch a lawsuit against the contractor who built my house because even though the doors have locks a third can break in with nothing more than a rock and some willingness to maybe get cut on shattered glass

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