OnStar device to aid stolen car recovery OnStar device to help in

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Apr 23, 2008 | by Michael Manekin

SAN MATEO -- Several dozen Bay Area cops descended on a parking lot in San Mateo on Tuesday to try their hand at playing car thief, and all of them failed -- miserably.

They got off to a great start, though. The officers hopped behind the wheel of an SUV, put their pedals to the proverbial metal and sped off a few hundred feet before a new technology brought their getaway to a gradual halt.

What happened? A remote signal from hundreds of miles away was activated that caused the truck's powertrain system to reduce engine power and ignore the drivers' attempts to accelerate.

This technology, "Stolen Vehicle Slowdown" by OnStar, promises to help law enforcement nationwide by reducing the number of dangerous high-speed chases that can occur when police pursue a car thief on the road.

"I have to say I'm impressed with any system that can assist law enforcement in stopping a stolen vehicle," San Mateo Deputy Chief Mike Callagy said shortly after checking out the new technology. "I'm impressed by any company that develops the kind of technology that can reduce pursuits that can injure and kill innocent people -- it's very futuristic."

OnStar, a subsidiary of General Motors, debuted in 1996 with "Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance," a system that employs GPS satellite technology to pinpoint the location of a stolen car within 30 feet. The network, available exclusively in GM vehicles, provides service to more than 5 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, according to the company.

Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, the company's latest technological development, will debut this fall in more than a dozen 2009 GM vehicles, including models by Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Saturn and Hummer.

The company invited Bay Area law enforcement officials to the San Mateo County Event Center on Tuesday to take a first look at the technology and get familiar with a system that OnStar estimates will eventually cut short 600 high-speed pursuits annually.

The Stolen Vehicle Slowdown system is designed to work exclusively with the aid and authorization of local law enforcement. The technology is activated when the owner of a GM vehicle with an OnStar subscription files a stolen vehicle report with law enforcement, then requests additional help from OnStar.

OnStar representatives then collaborate directly with local police to locate the stolen vehicle. When patrol officers close in on the car, they must first confirm that conditions are safe for OnStar to activate the signal that reduces engine power. Once officers authorize the signal, the vehicle will slow to a stop.

Police engage in some 30,000 chases annually and approximately 300 deaths occur as a result, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data cited by OnStar.

"If we can save just one life, that is a huge benefit to the community and our subscribers," OnStar spokesman Brad Williams said.

The technology comes at no extra cost to all OnStar subscribers, who receive the company's services free with the purchase of a new GM vehicle and then must pay $199 annually to renew.

"It's something that seems very well thought out," Foster City police Capt. Jon Froomin said.

"It's reasonable, it's safe ... anything that can help us reduce the number of high-speed chases is welcome."

Ideally, the technology will eliminate the need for all pursuits, Froomin said. Of course, the OnStar system won't aid all crimes resulting in high-speed pursuits, such as bank robbers or traffic violators attempting a quick getaway, the officer said.

Nonetheless, the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown system is a "nice tool" when car thieves target GM vehicle owners who happen to be OnStar subscribers, Froomin said.

"If we happen to have a resident whose vehicle is stolen, our goal is to try to recover the car, and even better, to apprehend the subject," he added. "This technology will enable us to do that."

Staff writer Michael Manekin can be reached at 650-348-4331 or by e-mail at mmanekin@bayareanewsgroup.com.