Residents in Denver, Colorado have been participating in a voluntary program to reduce vehicle CO2 emissions. Two transmission devices using a cellular telephone network to transmit driving data are installed on the car. Driver behavior is then tracked and sent to servers and recorded to generate driver profiles. After a month, drivers can access a secure server to see how “driving habits contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.”1 These devices have already been installed on all Denver city and county vehicles.
The devices measure “aggressive driving, engine idling, and speeding.”2 The stated goal of the program is to identify aggressive green-house driving and modify that behavior. “Denver’s bet is that its citizens are eager to participate in this Community-based program to address the global warming problem.”3 It’s a bet they’ve hedged with propaganda and high-tech to cash in on coming new green-house violation surcharges to be added to traffic tickets. As more and more cities look for ways of balancing budgets with new taxes and fees, look for more green-house voluntary programs like these to be initiated and then converted to vehicle codes.
Notes:
1. Denver Colorado, “Driving Change…Denver: Reduce Your Vehicular CO2 Emissions,” (overview). February 2008.
https://www.drivingchange.org/Downloads/DC_datasheet_012908.pdf
2-3. Denver Colorado, “Driving Change…Denver: Reduce Your Vehicular CO2 Emissions,” (whitepaper). February 2008.
https://www.drivingchange.org/Downloads/DC_whitepaper_program.pdf
