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The Orlando Sentinel, Fla., Steven Cole Smith column: CarChip: It's Big Brother on the side of right
(Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Nov. 24--I bring terrible news for teenagers. And drivers who act like teenagers.
For several years, Davis Instruments, a small electronics manufacturer based in Hayward, Calif.,has been selling the CarChip, a device that plugs into a car's computer system and records what the car has been doing. Older CarChip models were a bit rudimentary, but the new CarChip Pro, reaching the market very soon, is a teenage driver's worst nightmare.
Or, if the teen is a responsible driver, his or her best friend. I'm trying to think positive: Maybe teen drivers are different now.
Anyway: The CarChip Pro, about the size of a key fob, plugs into a car's diagnostic computer (installs in 15 seconds, the company says), and logs the following: up to 300 hours of trip details, including time, date, distance traveled and speed. It logs "extreme acceleration and braking." It stores top speed, average speed, and "time over safety limit for speed." It comes standard with software for your home computer, and a USB cable that lets you download the data. Tamper with it, and that shows up on the data, too. It even has a separate "accident log." If it detects a hard impact, it logs your speed "every second" for 20 seconds prior to the "complete stop." All this can be printed out in a spreadsheet.
Price for the CarChip Pro, the software and the USB cable: $119 from the manufacturer. I've listed ordering information separately at Orlando Sentinel.com/onwheels.
There are a couple of caveats that parents should be aware of, because teens certainly will be. The CarChip Pro works on the vast majority of passenger vehicles from 1996 or newer. There are exceptions: It won't work on, for some reason, a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix. If your teen has a sudden, unexplained hankering for an '04 Grand Prix, well, now it's explained.
Also, the possibility exists that some teens, caught by the CarChip Pro, may have ready excuses. Examples:
You, pointing at the computer screen: "So why did you accelerate from zero to 80 mph here?"
Teen: "It's these wooden shoes from Holland! They're really heavy!" (A well-prepared teen will actually have a pair of wooden shoes.)
You: "And why did you slam on the brakes here?"
Teen: "A blind nun stumbled out into the street, right in front of me!"
Davis Instruments points out correctly that there are other uses for the company's products -- several units it builds that are more sophisticated, and more expensive, than the CarChip Pro are designed for fleet management. They can show, for instance, how long a vehicle idles. Or they allow you to download information wirelessly, or even tell if the driver and passengers are using seat belts. A couple of units offer satellite-linked GPS to log exactly where the vehicle has been driven, and when.
And we've also heard of less responsible uses for devices such as these. Want to prove to your buddies that you drove home from the beach at 120 mph? This'll do it.
The CarChip Pro is not the only device of its type, but it is among the more popular and least expensive. Much of this does, of course, smack of Big Brother. But if it can help keep your teens safe, I suspect even George Orwell might approve.
Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith can be reached at scsmith@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5699.
To see more of The Orlando Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.OrlandoSentinel.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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