> The government says it needs this information to identify and interview witnesses who can testify about how the tools were actually used. Why start this whole thing, if you don't already have this information and have people willing to help you as witnesses? Sounds to me they're saying they don't have this already, but why is this investigation happening in the first place then? Rather than finding every user of th…
U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
211–220 of 381 posts
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#212> The government says it needs this information to identify and interview witnesses who can testify about how the tools were actually used. Why start this whole thing, if you don't already have this information and have people willing to help you as witnesses? Sounds to me they're saying they don't have this already, but why is this investigation happening in the first place then? Rather than finding every user of th…
Yeah, I'd HAPPILY report every single truck rolling coal around me if there was a place to report that information. Hell, I've seen a truck roll coal around cop cars and, obviously, nothing happened. This is just gross privacy intrusion masquerading as "protecting the environment". We don't need 100% compliance to the law and simple prosecution/ticketing of obvious violations would go a long way towards solving the p…
Demand that your local government installs PM 2.5 / 10 monitors on each of their spy cams. They'll easily pick up out-of-spec emissions systems. Join the emissions spikes with the license plates. Take the cars that are two standard deviations above the norm for PM 2.5 / 10 increases after they're spotted by the camera, and have them come in for an aggressive smog check.
Completely eliminate all other smog check requirements for late model cars because modern tests are just "check the pollution control light on the dash", and "check for tampering". Those checks will only catch honest drivers, since coal-rollers limit themselves to reversible modifications anyway.
If we're going to give up our privacy for some amorphous benefits (which I think is a terrible tradeoff), at least let those benefits include annual paperwork. As a bonus, if the PM 2.5 / 10 data is made public, then we'd have much better air pollution monitoring. There's no way this plan costs more than the current system, where every ICE car driver pays ~ $100 to an inspection station every few years. PM sensors are under $100, and you need orders of magnitude fewer sensors than cars.
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#213Earlier quoted context omitted.
Guy tries to drive courtously around you and this is how you take it? You're unhinged.
If I understand correctly, the trucker was set up to roll coal on other people, and only made an exception for this specific kid on a bike. It's not "unhinged" to stand up for others who have been targeted even while you were spared — it's just common decency.
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't really care how it affects car modders or people with sports cars. I have a sports car, and yeah the California smog test has been super annoying cause of electrical problems with that are unrelated to its actual emissions, but I knew what I was getting into when I bought something known for unreliability. Fixed it myself. There's a dude across the street with a modded car who always complains he has to bribe…
As someone who lives in a state that got rid of emissions testing before I could drive it sounds like a horrifying thing to have to deal with.
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who lives in a state that got rid of emissions testing before I could drive it sounds like a horrifying thing to have to deal with.
Why is it horrifying? I've taken cars in for testing for years. It's pretty quick and painless.
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm generally pretty libertarian, but I'm all for throwing the book at these guys. To me that seems perfectly in line with being libertarian. One of the legitimate roles of the government is protecting people from violence by other people. Libertarians are not anarchists.
Not to my understanding. Libertarian protections are from my understanding all about the quantifiable damages that were done by any given action. They don't usually go beyond that. That's why most libertarians would be in favor of blowing asbestos insulation with the thought that "well, eventually the mesothelioma victims will sue which will stop the practice". You couldn't preemptively sue, however, as you don't hav…
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#217Americans: How did you let it get this way?
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#218> It has already submitted forum posts and social media evidence showing some users employing the system to disable emissions controls. Is right-to-repair going to get scrod by illegal activity, like everyone got scrod by media piracy? We knew we'd get scrod back when MP3 piracy started, and many people were warned what would happen, but they still did it, and it played out just like was warned. Illegal activity crea…
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
Periodic vehicle inspection for emissions and safety compliance. Many jurisdictions already have this for gas engine emissions, a handful of states already have safety inspections. Done right, it can be low burden and low cost, and basically put an end to Def deletion. Done poorly it's grift to the shops that do the inspections, and an economically external annoyance to vehicle owners, and unnecessarily limits the ab…
> Done right, it can be low burden and low cost The rules mostly penalise the poor (and often unfairly). You are severely underestimating how hard "done right" is. I'm from New Zealand and the yearly car checkup is burdensome. About $75 and an hour wasted minimum to get car checked. However the workshop profits come from fixing faults so their economic incentive is to find faults. It costs you way more time if someth…
Re: U.S. DOJ demands Apple and Google unmask over 100k users of car-tinkering app
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
California is rather strict on emissions. Other states don't care. I used to work for my state's version of the DMV and the only public facing page where one could report things was to report people who would not register their cars locally (many people who purchase very expensive cars chose to register them in Montana). There used to be a web page to report license plates that were worn and needed replacing (like th…
Vehicle regulation in the US is piss poor. Here's the full list of states that require all passenger vehicles to be inspected for safety and emissions every year: * New York * Massachussets * Vermont
"Safety Inspections" were generally just a grift for third-party repairshops to collect free money and I couldn't be happier that they are no longer a thing.
Be aware that "safety" and "emissions" are different. Emissions testing is still required biannually for newish vehicles and yearly for older ones.
[1] https://www.deseret.com/2017/3/9/20607904/lawmakers-remove-r...