Starting Next Year, Brazil Wants To Track All Cars Electronically 178
New submitter juliohm writes "As of January, Brazil intends to put into action a new system that will track vehicles of all kinds via radio frequency chips. It will take a few years to accomplish, but authorities will eventually require all vehicles to have an electronic chip installed, which will match every car to its rightful owner. The chip will send the car's identification to antennas on highways and streets, soon to be spread all over the country. Eventually, it will be illegal to own a car without one. Besides real time monitoring of traffic conditions, authorities will be able to integrate all kinds of services, such as traffic tickets, licensing and annual taxes, automatic toll charge, and much more. Benefits also include more security, since the system will make it harder for thieves to run far away with stolen vehicles, much less leave the country with one."
Dupe (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The big brother society (Score:5, Informative)
Re:We already have this here in the US. (Score:3, Informative)
They're also not registered to the car.
How Brazil works (Score:4, Informative)
Brasil is a communal society; we could care less for individual rights. Heck, if the entire country goes out on the streets naked every February, there is no need for individualism.
That being said, it's really hard to enforce a law in Brasil, mostly because it is a matter of national pride to find a way around the rules. They can put as many transponders as they want, but if all the population gets are tickets, then even the dealerships will have an "unofficial" - official - system to remove the tags.
The same thing happened with DVD players way back. Companies tried to force consumers to only get players for region 7. Except that, when you bought a DVD player, the salesman himself would write a code in a piece of paper that you could use to unlock all the regions.
Of course, if the system is used properly, then people won't bother. They could care less if some random guy knows if they are going to churches or brothels.
Brazilian Explain (Score:3, Informative)
OK,
It is VERY FUNNY how foreigners or first world people think about that.
The REAL reason is:
TAXES, FEES and revenues.
The Brazilian gov. only cares about revenues and taxes to keep it's dysfunctional dept. and employees.
Brazil was one of the first countries to have its IRS system on internet, paying taxes on INTERNET.
In one of my country roads, there is a camera that read the tags and check if the license is ok.
If not it sends a alert to the next police station with details.
The police see: White car, tag xx xxx
He stop and tow the car.
But if you go at night that does not work.
So the brazilian govt is going deeper.
In sao Paolo you have SOME days you can use your car, if you use on 'not allowed' days and you get caught you get a fine.
So this is the reason for the tags.
'hmmmmm..you moved your car 1 mile in your not allowed day, please pay'
Now I will wait for my fellows brazilians say that 'it is not like that.' and how our govt 'really ' cares about us..