Switzerland let me down today. For a long time I have held a somewhat naive image of Switzerland as the cool little country of high-end watches, chocolate, skiing and international banking that has long been glorified in movies and spoon-fed to me when I travelled there. But that image was tarnished today when I read Engadget's coverage
of Switzerland's attempt to keep you from knowing where their traffic cameras are by outlawing the retail sale of certain brands of GPS units that can warn motorists when they are in the vicinity of known camera locations. Traffic cameras have become an increasingly popular enforcement and revenue generation tool in the government toolkit. Whether mounted on fixed or mobile platforms, traffic cameras can be designed to catch speeders, red-light runners, bus lane parasites or even the vehicle emissions compliance of passing vehicles .
The collective response to the explosion in camera use has been nothing short of beautiful: As in-car GPS navigation systems have become more popular, people have begun collecting the camera locations and compiling them into databases that can be uploaded into GPS units capable of accepting custom Points Of Interest information (at present these are mostly the portable units you place on your dash from manufacturers such as Garmin, Tom-Tom and Magellan to name just a few). Some companies such as Navalert have created specialized devices that alert you to traffic camera locations in much the same manner. Radar detector companies are starting to add GPS capabilities to their products as well...
So, back to Switzerland. From a practical standpoint do they really think they can keep the legislation current with the rapidly changing GPS product landscape? Moreover, isn't the idea of directly or indirectly outlawing any kind of knowledge something that is bound to inspire attempts at circumvention?
carlisimo says:
12:26 PM, 02/18/07
That there's some organized resistance to it gives me hope.
estreka says:
12:35 PM, 02/19/07
This will never fly. Even if the legislation stands, the guy that just bought a 200 euro Garmin is not going to just not use it. Besides, with all these cameras, what police are left to look for renegade GPS users?
ateixeira says:
11:20 AM, 02/21/07
I agree. I have a Garmin with custom POI databases (free, by the way) already loaded. How exactly do they plan to enforce this law? It's not like my Garmin is illegal, and they'd need a warrant to check to see that I have those loaded.
Ridiculous.
tirthankar_b says:
12:11 AM, 03/ 3/07
The cameras would increase accidents instead of reducing. I would hate them, if they are installed here. An break them when I get a chance.