In October of 1991, the Seinfeld show first aired one of its iconic episodes, “The Parking Garage.” The entire episode takes place in a mall garage as Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer wander around endlessly for 30 minutes trying to find their car. Are there any of us who have not lost track of their vehicle three hours after parking it? According to a survey by National Car Parks Ltd., Britain's largest parking lot operator, 44% of drivers had, at some point forgotten, where they parked. I think the percentage is higher!
What can we do to help us find our car?
Santa Monica Place, a shopping mall in California with 2,000 parking spaces, has installed the nation's first camera-based 'Find Your Car' system. While other malls have installed programs where electronic billboards alert parkers to the best area to find a vacant space, this system goes beyond that. According to the Los Angeles Times, this method, developed by Park Assist, offers "Find Your Car" kiosks that “allow drivers to key in their plate number — or just the first few characters — on a screen to bring up a photo of a vehicle and a description of its location.” Sounds good to me, but others do not like it because of its intrusive potential for Big Brother situations.
Currently, it is legal to take video in public and the company owning the video can use it or share as they choose. There is a distinction though between being allowed to share and being required to share. Police or other enforcement agencies can require the owner of the video to release the footage usually through subpoena powers.
Chris Calabrese, the American Civil Liberties Union's legislative counsel in Washington points out some potential problems. "What if a divorce attorney came and asked who was in the mall? Or someone looking to repossess vehicles for past nonpayment? The unintended consequences can be huge."
On the positive side, in a mall where license plate readers were installed, scans have let the police recover 44 stolen vehicles and arrest 38 individuals.
Since I don’t plan on driving a stolen car or being involved in a divorce, I welcome the convenience. It is only those doing something illegal who reject it.
It’s ironic that just last week I wrote about the FCC proposal about limiting companies tracking consumers on the Internet and this week I want my car tracked. I guess I don’t always want to be left alone.
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