Bill Sommerfeld's Weblog

Monday June 21, 2004

Emissions control computers vs the Bill of Rights? Last week, I brought my car in for its mandatory annual state inspection. While there, I learned that Massachusetts has just replaced its current dynamometer-based emissions test with a newer one which involves connecting the inspection station's computer up to your (post-1996) car's standardized OBD port.

Today, while reading Eugene Volokh's multiple blog posts on the Supreme Court decision in the Hiibel case, I started wondering about the applicability of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to Massachusetts' new scheme for vehicle emissions tests. Is a mandatory telemetry system in a vehicle, combined with mandatory disclosure of some underspecified selection of the telemetry, an "unreasonable" search or a form of compelled self-incrimination?

From a database privacy angle, what values are actually recorded? Is maximum speed one of them? Who gets to do data-mining on the accumulated telemetry, or see individually identifiable records?

The state's FAQ isn't particularly informative.. (2004-06-21 15:59:48.0) Permalink