Stop Car Thieves With A Simple SMS

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Hey, it's a "find my phone" app for your car. Thanks to cageymaru for the link.

What would you do if your car had just been stolen? Take out your phone and call the police? Sure, you could that, but what if instead of asking authorities for help you simply sent a text message? Moreover, what if that SMS went straight to a hidden device inside your car and immediately immobilized the vehicle's engine?
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I think I would rather have it shoot a titanium spike out from the dash and into the driver seat. I guess for the safety of others it could stop the car first.
 
Moreover, what if that SMS went straight to a hidden device inside your car and immediately immobilized the vehicle's engine?
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And what if that car was then hit by another vehicle, and that vehicle thief got hurt, and then that thief sued you for inciting the accident, and you were found liable because you controlled the stopping of the car? Then what?
 
"immediately immobilized the vehicle's engine"

If that stolen car just happened to be speeding along an interstate at 70 mph when you "immobilized" that engine, and it caused a wreck (possibly killing someone?), I suspect you would have just become a defendant in a very nasty lawsuit.

The only way that text message kill switch could possibly work is if it somehow disables the starter so that the next time the car was turned off it couldn't be started again.
 
Old_Way said:
"immediately immobilized the vehicle's engine"

If that stolen car just happened to be speeding along an interstate at 70 mph when you "immobilized" that engine, and it caused a wreck (possibly killing someone?), I suspect you would have just become a defendant in a very nasty lawsuit.

The only way that text message kill switch could possibly work is if it somehow disables the starter so that the next time the car was turned off it couldn't be started again.
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Or it could be just triggered to kill the engine when the stops moving (0 MPH).
 
Doesn't OnStar already do that? Call OnStar, they shut off your car remotely, done.
 
I like the titanium spike idea but also was thinking of a double-barrelled shotgun behind the dash too, BUT THEN we would all be crazy for thinking such things. Instead, I think an airbag under the drivers seat going off sending the thief into the headliner (or through the sunroof if there is one) would be appropiate.
 
amddragonpc said:
I like the titanium spike idea but also was thinking of a double-barrelled shotgun behind the dash too, BUT THEN we would all be crazy for thinking such things. Instead, I think an airbag under the drivers seat going off sending the thief into the headliner (or through the sunroof if there is one) would be appropiate.
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Airbag defense mechanism is already a reality.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/government-urges-car-owners-action-defective-airbags/story?id=26330680
 
MavericK96 said:
Also, what a mess all over the upholstry. :p
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And whatever it shoots through... then there's thought in the back of your head "I hope this doesn't deploy accidentally"... finally there's the little bit of getting charged with premeditated murder which regardless of what you think the laws should be involving thieves, it would happen.
 
Azhar said:
Doesn't OnStar already do that? Call OnStar, they shut off your car remotely, done.
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I thought some of the older Clifford car alarms did similar. Required a phone call, but it was doable...

I don't like this. I don't like having remote control of critical things. Imagine if this was hacked (it will be) and a huge amount of vehicles just stopped on major freeways. I don't think that would go over well.
 
You can stop terrorism with Hashtags, Ebola with an updated PDF, stopping a car with an SMS should be no problem.
 
BTW why does shutting off an engine automatically translates into an accident? You can still steer and brake.
 
Old_Way said:
"immediately immobilized the vehicle's engine"

If that stolen car just happened to be speeding along an interstate at 70 mph when you "immobilized" that engine, and it caused a wreck (possibly killing someone?), I suspect you would have just become a defendant in a very nasty lawsuit.

The only way that text message kill switch could possibly work is if it somehow disables the starter so that the next time the car was turned off it couldn't be started again.
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Very true.


Most of the world doesn't have as draconian liability law as we do here in the U.S.

TORT REFORM!
 
the-one1 said:
Because of the unexpected sudden loss of power steering and power brakes.
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^Does not understand a car.

Steering is "power assisted steering" if you ever read the manual. Brakes are the same.

The steering effort is inversely proportional to speed. At highway speeds you'd be hard pressed to even know its gone. The lack of assist makes steering hard but not impossible at about 25 mph and below.

Brakes should have a residual charge good for one or two hard braking presses. Even after that, if you push hard enough you have brakes.

Way back 15+ years ago you would lose power steering and power brakes if you ran out of gas. I don't know anyone who never ran out of gas, ever. And some people several times. They all survived.
 
jpm100 said:
^Does not understand a car.

Steering is "power assisted steering" if you ever read the manual. Brakes are the same.

The steering effort is inversely proportional to speed. At highway speeds you'd be hard pressed to even know its gone. The lack of assist makes steering hard but not impossible at about 25 mph and below.

Brakes should have a residual charge good for one or two hard braking presses. Even after that, if you push hard enough you have brakes.

Way back 15+ years ago you would lose power steering and power brakes if you ran out of gas. I don't know anyone who never ran out of gas, ever. And some people several times. They all survived.
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I grew up without power steering on many of my cars. Power brakes? Not when you have to pump them several times to get them working! :)
 
I would be concerned about it being inadvertently activated.

That, and the liability if the immobolizer resulted in an accident.

That being said, I'm sure it could be programmed to accept an immobilization request, and monitor vehicle speed and wait until it is stopped (or travelling slowly) before implemented.


Either way, I thought car theft was declining as more and more cars get those fancy electronic keys which are very difficult to bypass.

If my car were stolen though, I think I'd rather have it not come back and be replaced. It would never feel quite right again knowing that some criminal had beaten on it.
 
amddragonpc said:
I like the titanium spike idea but also was thinking of a double-barrelled shotgun behind the dash too, BUT THEN we would all be crazy for thinking such things. Instead, I think an airbag under the drivers seat going off sending the thief into the headliner (or through the sunroof if there is one) would be appropiate.
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High voltage (think electric chair) would be a better solution, much less of a mess inside the car.

They actually showed this as part of a car alarm ad in the original Robocop.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041177817 said:
Either way, I thought car theft was declining as more and more cars get those fancy electronic keys which are very difficult to bypass.
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Actually, since newer cars are harder to steal with these "fancy electronic keys" the trend is to
just stick a gun in your face and take the car with key when you stop for gas, coffee, etc.

Criminals always seem to adapt.
 
nutzo said:
Actually, since newer cars are harder to steal with these "fancy electronic keys" the trend is to
just stick a gun in your face and take the car with key when you stop for gas, coffee, etc.

Criminals always seem to adapt.
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Yikes, where do you live? Tijuana? :eek:

The only carjacking I've ever even heard of around here in the greater Boston area since I've lived here (last 15 years) was by the marathon bombers as they were escaping.

I have heard that when it comes to certain very high end cars organized car theft still happens despite the immobilizers. They swoop in with a flatbed truck, then ship the car to south america where it is easy to bribe a dealership to reprogram the key, and then sell it there.

For most of us this isn't a concern though, as for your average car, this isn't worth it.

So, car jacking aside, car theft is really only a problem if you a pre ~1997 beater without an immobilizer, or drive something very high end.

Oldest car I ever owned was 7 years old when I got rid of it, and the most I've ever spent on a car was about $20k used, and I don't live in Tijuana, so I guess I don't have to worry :D
 
Ur_Mom said:
I grew up without power steering on many of my cars. Power brakes? Not when you have to pump them several times to get them working! :)
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True, but the steering components have gotten much heavier since the days when non-power assist was common.

It is MUUUCH harder to turn a modern car car with a power steering servo that no longer works than it is to steer an older model without power steering.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041177944 said:
True, but the steering components have gotten much heavier since the days when non-power assist was common.

It is MUUUCH harder to turn a modern car car with a power steering servo that no longer works than it is to steer an older model without power steering.
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Had the pleasure of an alternator dying in the middle of Driving around 55 mph about 3 months ago, about the same as running out of gas 20+ years. Steering was fine until I got into the parkinglot.

Need to believe loss of power steering = instant crash? Sorrry, not true.
 
Not enough tinfoils in this thread. I am disappointed.
 
jpm100 said:
Need to believe loss of power steering = instant crash? Sorrry, not true.
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Guaranteed instant crash? No. But judging by how many accidents resulted from GM's ignition problem that essentially resulted in the same problem, it certainly results in a higher risk of accident, and if there is one, you bet you are getting sued.
 
jpm100 said:
^Does not understand a car.

Steering is "power assisted steering" if you ever read the manual. Brakes are the same.

The steering effort is inversely proportional to speed. At highway speeds you'd be hard pressed to even know its gone. The lack of assist makes steering hard but not impossible at about 25 mph and below.

Brakes should have a residual charge good for one or two hard braking presses. Even after that, if you push hard enough you have brakes.

Way back 15+ years ago you would lose power steering and power brakes if you ran out of gas. I don't know anyone who never ran out of gas, ever. And some people several times. They all survived.
Click to expand...

^Does not understand people
 
Stoly said:
BTW why does shutting off an engine automatically translates into an accident? You can still steer and brake.
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Power steering and power brakes use the engines mechanical energy to power them. No engine then no ability to stop or steer the car. See those big pulleys in the engine bay? They don't turn for your amusement.

The smarter thing would be to disable the transmission. The car would just coast down the road with the engine still running.
 
jpm100 said:
Had the pleasure of an alternator dying in the middle of Driving around 55 mph about 3 months ago, about the same as running out of gas 20+ years. Steering was fine until I got into the parkinglot.

Need to believe loss of power steering = instant crash? Sorrry, not true.
Click to expand...

When an alternator dies the engine doesn't stop running. It will still run off the battery. But again if you were doing 55 mph in a turn and the engine lost power, you'd be screwed. Remember that fiasco with GM and ignitions falling out of cars? Those caused accidents cause the engine would stop running.
 
lilbabycat said:
And what if that car was then hit by another vehicle, and that vehicle thief got hurt, and then that thief sued you for inciting the accident, and you were found liable because you controlled the stopping of the car? Then what?
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A lot of places will say that someone in commission of a crime is responsible for everything that happens. So you immobilize the car, dude crashes, he gets all the charges because he was breaking the law in the first place. At least that's how I think it would go down off the top of my head.
 
If the car is new enough the gas pedal is simply an electronic switch for the engine, i.e. there's no physical connection. So if your SMS could simply severe the connection between gas pedal and engine, then you still have power steering, brakes, just the car will slow down and stop eventually.
 
sfsuphysics said:
If the car is new enough the gas pedal is simply an electronic switch for the engine, i.e. there's no physical connection. So if your SMS could simply severe the connection between gas pedal and engine, then you still have power steering, brakes, just the car will slow down and stop eventually.
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Yeah, there are a lot of ways to do this with out simply killing the engine. But ultimately as others have said, if my truck were stolen I'd rather it not come back. I believe stolen vehicles are often totaled out when they are recovered anyway, as the amount of damage caused to the vehicle is not always readily apparent, and the potential for theft to reoccur if the thief were to retain access to a key to the vehicle, and the often high cost in re-keying a car.
 
"Ability to turn off engines REMOTELY via SMS". What could possibly go wrong?:rolleyes:
 
Zarathustra[H];1041177944 said:
True, but the steering components have gotten much heavier since the days when non-power assist was common.

It is MUUUCH harder to turn a modern car car with a power steering servo that no longer works than it is to steer an older model without power steering.
Click to expand...

Haven't tried a modern car. I've had an 80's car lose power steering, which wasn't too bad. Very noticeable, and a pain in the ass, but not too bad.
 
Ur_Mom said:
Haven't tried a modern car. I've had an 80's car lose power steering, which wasn't too bad. Very noticeable, and a pain in the ass, but not too bad.
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Well now, which is it? :confused:

:p
 
Ur_Mom said:
I thought some of the older Clifford car alarms did similar. Required a phone call, but it was doable...

I don't like this. I don't like having remote control of critical things. Imagine if this was hacked (it will be) and a huge amount of vehicles just stopped on major freeways. I don't think that would go over well.
Click to expand...

It will be hacked the same OnStar was hacked. Wait...

that said, think if you accidentally left your phone behind and some prankster/asshole knew you had this system and deployed it on you. I know I would :D (only if I knew they wouldn't be hurt, of course :p)
 
Steve said:
Hey, it's a "find my phone" app for your car. Thanks to cageymaru for the link.
Click to expand...

What would you do if one of your co-workers was pissing you off and you wanted to get them fired? OH.. hack their car so they couldnt get to work? How about that asshole who is taking up two spots at the mall? Hack em.. now he can go fuck himself for being a dick. Roadrage? Follow them home, hack their car, and go home happy while they try to get their car to work when they next get in it. Ex giving you shit? Hack the sim. Want to have fun? Work for a dealership and hack peoples cars... oh wait.. that has been done already....

Oh great idea... this wont ever be abused or anything, and im positive there will not be any exploits what so ever with the software at all, and im certain you wont be tracked or anything so they can then sell your driving habits to someone.

BAD IDEA!!!
 
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