The case for a well-funded organization for wrongful death lawsuits against cops who kill.

[MineralMan]

23. Well, it could. RFID is pretty much a short distance

recognition technology. It only responds when queried by an RFID reader nearby. So, no, your car couldn't be tracked easily wherever it goes. On the other hand, RFID readers could be located at intersections or wherever to read the IDs of cars that passed by. That's how the current license plate readers are used. Most major metro areas have those, and do use them.

The thing is that RFID technology is already in use in the automobile industry. Odds are that if you have a new car, it has an RFID tag, that was installed to track it during manufacturing and shipping. It's a commonplace in the auto industry. Also, if your car doesn't require you to insert a key to start or unlock the car, your key is an RFID-equipped device.

If you drive a GM car with On-Star, it's trackable via GPS, as well. RFID tags for cars are also used by parking facilities, rental car companies, and even car washes, to identify cars and eliminate workers that were needed to identify cars that were authorized to use the facilities.

The last car I rented, for example, at LAX, was RFID equipped. I didn't have to show anything when I exited the rental lot or when I returned the car. I just went out, got in the car and drove out. It's RFID was detected and the barrier arm went up. When I returned, the same thing happened and I didn't have to interact with anyone to drop the car off. A little box asked me if I wanted to use the credit card I provided when I rented the car, and then printed out a receipt for me. I parked the car and got on the shuttle box without ever seeing another person.

It's a small step to require all cars to have an RFID chip with the VIN recorded. I expect that to happen soon.

Technology. It's a reality, like it or not.