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Ask HN: Why not build a car that will not move with a stranger inside?
Everyone in the car (not just the driver) would need to be authenticated as a person allowed to be in that car. Otherwise, the car will not move.
Adding a new person to those allowed in the car would require a password and a 24 hour wait.
This security system would prevent car theft including carjackings.
So why hasn't this been done already?
- robin_reala 4y agoBecause who is more worried about carjackings than giving a lift to a non-registered friend?
- PaulHoule 4y agoThe two use cases for carjackings I imagine are: (1) people who want to steal luxury cars, and (2) complete nutcases like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbionese_Liberation_Army https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbionese_Liberation_Army who probably stole at least 5 cars for each bank that they robbed. If you avoid luxury cars your carjacking risk is low. Back when carjacking was big in the media in the 1980s my high school science teacher and I imagined that they'd make cars that were really nice on the inside but looked like crap on the outside to deter carjackers.
- duped 4y agoChicago has been seeing a rash of carjackings the last two years, and evidence suggests that the kinds of cars being targeted track which cars are popular (1) and not luxury cars. According to a carjacker the reason they would steal luxury cars is for shootings (2). But frankly, most of the crimes are just kids doing stupid stuff for the thrill. (1) https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/cook-county-sheriffs-data-reveal-most-popular-cars-targeted-by-carjackers-most-common-methods/ https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/cook-county-sheriffs-da... (2) https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2021/12/31/22848890/chicago-carjackings-inside-mind-chicago-carjacker https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2021/12/31/22848890/chica...
- Minor49er 4y agoI'm losing less with a possible carjacking than I am with guaranteed surveillance
- SkittyDog 4y agoDo you live in a place where carjackings are common enough to justify making it impossible to give a random friend a ride, somewhere, on short notice? If you do live with that kind of fear of violent crime in your life, I legitimately offer you my deep sympathies... I've had the privilege of living most of my life in physically very safe places, and I can only imagine how awful this would be. That said... Individually authenticating passengers in the car would require some extensive, invasive technology. I cannot imagine an effective way to do it... Here in the US, people convicted of drunk driving are often required to install ignition-interlock Breathalyzers as a condition of keeping their driving privileges. But even those systems are pretty trivial for a somewhat determined problem drinker to defeat. Also, the major loss of functionality (giving rides to people on short notice) would make it a hard sell, except in place where the crime problem was truly terrifying... And at that point, I'd assume that it's easier/cheaper to just hire armed bodyguards to escort you, rather than any kind of technological solution.
- toast0 4y agoI've had an unscheduled occupant in my car an infinite percent more than I've been carjacked. Carjacking happens, but in most places it's pretty rare.
- patrickz 4y agoI have been drive for about 20 years, and I've never encountered a car theft.