http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/07/lapd.gps.ap/index.html

Fandros

It might work... or the culprits might stop just long enough to switch the dart onto some other vehicle and continue on their way.

I thought they were working on an EMP weapon that would pretty much stop any newer vehicle in its tracks. THAT would be cool.

A) I'm really glad they didn't have those when I was a kid.

B) Doesn't seem that useful. If they back off far enough that the GPS would come into play, it wouldn't be hard to drive into a parking deck and switch cars or similar. Maybe I'm just thinking too GTA or something, but loss of visual contact in a chase pretty much ends it.

I thought they were working on an EMP weapon that would pretty much stop any newer vehicle in its tracks. THAT would be cool.
I've seen something like a harpoon gun used before that punctures the body of the car, making contact with ground via chassis, and then sends pulses that fry the more sensitive electronics on board. I think the results were too unpredictable though, and they stopped using them.

I got a better idea. Some of the high risk lenders will REQUIRE people to put a GPS system that is attached to the engine of the vehicle. When people don't make their payments on time, they trigger their code and now that vehicle will not start until the lender turns it on. I was talking with some dealerships and they say it works. There are mechanisms in place that will shut the car down if the unit is tampered with. I figured it would be easy to bypass, but depending on how its connected to the vehicle and the level of computerization in vehicles now a days I could see this as a very viable option in the future, maybe not for high speed chases. I'd hate to see a driver lose power steering at 110 MPH.

If the vehicle has OnStar, can they do more than just unlock the doors remotely? Might end up seeing OnStar as standard equipment.

If the vehicle has OnStar, can they do more than just unlock the doors remotely? Might end up seeing OnStar as standard equipment.

If folks had any idea how difficult OnStar support can be in cases of vehicle theft, they'd faint. We've had cases of carjacking, the vehicle owner being taken along for the ride and OnStar wouldn't track for us until a formal request on S.O. letterhead was typed and faxed it to their approval center.

A tracking dart straight out of the comic books wouldn't be completely useful Sanchek, that is correct. I was actually talking to a producer today at America's Most Wanted who's primary job is actually the "eye in the sky" for the local fox affiliate and this came up. The plan isn't to simply use these and nothing else, they'd also use their choppers and the cruisers would continue to follow.

In places like LA there are more deaths caused by the police chases than whatever crimes the criminals are fleeing. This would be a good thing.

Uh... if you can shoot a car with a gumball launcher, can't you hit the tires with a shotgun?

The idea is safety for innocent bystanders. Taking the tires (and high speed chases) can easily result in accidents involving innocents when the chased loses control.