OnStar by GMOn-Star. If you haven’t heard of it, then you’ve been living under a rock. Nonetheless, for those of you who don’t know, On-Star is a G.P.S. tracking system that is used when your vehicle has been reported stolen. Using their Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance hardware, they have been able to respond to 28,000 stolen vehicle reports over the last ten years. They receive over 700 stolen vehicle reports every month. You could say On-Star has been a major player in the reduction of automotive theft over the last several years.

With this current technology and their partnership with GM, On-Star hopes to lower those numbers even more by enhancing their current hardware with the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown program (2009 GM Vehicle Exclusive). What On-Star hopes to do is to be able to reduce the casualties of high speed chases, of which there are currently over three-hundred every year.

OnStar Dashboard

Imagine a high speed chase after a vehicle has been reported stolen. After confirming with officials, On-Star would then send a signal to the fuel system of the automobile, causing it to slowly come to a halt, avoiding unnecessary deaths and destruction.

“OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is a powerful tool that could help prevent high speed police pursuits,” stated Marc Comeau, vice-president of sales, service, and marketing of GM Canada. “This innovative technology can help save lives, aid in the recovery of stolen vehicles and make our roadways safer for everyone.”

On-Star’s Stolen Vehicle Slowdown technology uses state of the art G.P.S. tracking and their new Generation 8 hardware. The company states that safe guards have been placed to ensure the proper vehicle is stopped and not somebody’s grandmother on the way to the hair salon. You know how ugly that can get. In my home, lives would be at stake. Thank you On-Star for ensuring me with those safe guards. I hope you have a Murphy’s Law safe guard implemented as well.

“From its inception, the motivation behind OnStar has been the safety and security of our subscribers and others on the road,” said Chet Huber, OnStar president. “Every service we add builds on this original promise. The Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service will allow our subscribers added peace of mind by possibly preventing their vehicle from being used as an instrument of harm if it happens to be stolen.”

In my opinion this technology is a great tool, for both good and bad. Some conspiracy theorists have already begun claiming Big Brother on On-Stars new Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, stating that its technology can be used to control the major populous of our United States of America. Luckily for me this is a 2009 GM vehicle exclusive. I own a Honda =).