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OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown Foils Carjacker
GM's OnStar service successfully halted a carjacker as he fled with a customer vehicle. This is the first time that the OnStar service has been used in the field in this manner.
Here’s how it works: Once OnStar sends a signal to the vehicle’s engine, it begins reducing engine power and gradually slows the vehicle to idle speed. All other vehicle systems, including power steering and brakes, remain fully operational.
“It helped us not only safely recover a vehicle for a local citizen, but also prevented a dangerous high-speed chase and allowed us to quickly apprehend a suspect,” Visalia police department sergeant Steven Phillips said in a statement. “It’s a win for everyone.”
(Video: Owner gets his car back with OnStar)
Fans of Keith Laumer will find this device familiar. In his 1965 book A Plague of Demons, he writes about a police control-override that lets law enforcement bring a fleeing vehicle to a halt.
I nudged the car into motion, steering between the two wide-shouldered, lean-hipped trouble boys. One whipped out a three-inch black disc - a police control-override. A red light blinked on the dash; the car faltered as the external command came to brake.I gunned it hard, felt the accelerator jam...
(Read more about Laumer's police control-override)
Fans of Greg Bear are probably thinking about the cop block from his 2007 novel Quantico (follow the link for Bear's comments on this idea).
Via GM’s OnStar remote vehicle slowdown feature stops carjacking .
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/17/2009)
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