High speed car chases could soon be a thing of the past in California, as General Motors has developed a new kill switch component of the OnStar service that will make an appearance in 1.7 million GM cars that roll out in 2009. This function enables police to kill the engine of a car involved in a high-speed chase remotely, and this move is seen as one that could reduce the number of deaths involved in police pursuits. The driver of a suspected stolen car will be notified by an OnStar technician that the car will be turned off, where only the brakes and power steering will continue to work after the engine is killed off. Sounds great in theory, but this would mean having vehicle owners fork out $16.95 monthly to be an OnStar subscriber. Sounds like a suspect who plans to drive his own car in a getaway won’t be too bothered about subscribing to this service.
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