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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Father Terrence who wrote (11032)	7/2/2001 9:57:00 PM
From: Tom Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

But Terrence, it will save lives. Where is your humanity?

To: Father Terrence who wrote (11032)	7/3/2001 10:48:58 PM
From: Tom Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

Car rental GPS speeding fines illegal By Robert Lemos, ZDNN July 2, 2001 4:38 PM PT Car renters in Connecticut can breathe a sigh of relief, but they shouldn't expect any more privacy. The state's Department of Consumer Protection has sided with customers against car rental company Acme Rent-a-Car, of New Haven. In an administrative complaint filed Monday, the department charged the company with violating state law when it tracked consumers via the global positioning system (GPS) and fined those that drove in excess of the posted speed limit. "We alleged they have violated Connecticut law," the department's commissioner, James T. Fleming, said. "There is no legal ability for them to charge a penalty when there has been no damage." The complaint comes in answer to a small-claims lawsuit filed last year. The plaintiff in that suit, New Haven resident James Turner, rented a car from Acme Rent-a-Car last October. On its contracts, the company noted: Drivers of "vehicles driven in excess of posted speed limit will be charged a $150 fee per occurrence. All our vehicles are GPS equipped." Turner, and many other customers, didn't connect the two statements, and paid for it later. Turner apparently drove greater than 77 mph at least three times, not knowing that the car's GPS receiver was giving him away. Without providing him any warning apart from the contract, the rental company went ahead and charged Turner $150 for each incident. Commissioner Fleming declared the charges illegal. "If they want to track people, well, companies do that right now," he said. "The difference here is that they tracked--and then they fined--people without properly notifying them." Acme Rent-a-Car's attorney could not be reached for comment but has previously indicated the company would accept the department's interpretation of the law. Such acceptance would allow car renters to drive whatever speed they wanted without fear of getting fined by the rental company. However, the company would still be allowed to track the car, said Fleming. The Department of Consumer Protection has requested that Acme sign a cease-and-desist order banning it from charging consumers the speeding fine and providing restitution to the more than two-dozen consumers who have been charged. zdnet.com