NYC may install cell phone jammers in taxicabs
New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission is mulling the idea of installing cell phone jammers in the front of taxis to prevent drivers from yakking on the phone while driving. Somehow these jammers wouldn't interfere with passenger calls. Two questions: 1) aren't cell phone jammers illegal; and 2) what technology exists to jam calls in the front seat, but allow them three feet away in the back?
5:28 AM * PERMALINK * 11 comments
Comments:
They must be using magic Marklar technology.
Seriously what part of this is a good idea? A perfect example of stupidity and not thinking things through.
How easy would it then be for someone to get into a Taxi and then be taken hostage with no capability to use their cell phone to call for help? And front seat can be blocked but not the rear seat? The people that come up with these ideas are morons and have no concept of technology or reality.
Well, yes devices that JAM cellphones are illegal. But, Faraday cages are not.
This is how both could be accomplished... requiring that all limo's and taxi cabs have faraday cages installed around the drivers compartment.
Some schools and theaters are slipping through the jamming device loophole by having the copper cages used as part of the building's structure. Then, there is no "Device" in place that jams the signal.... it's a fine line of legal speak that could go to the Supreme Court at some point!
this seems like a rather hardware-intensive solution to a rather simple problem. would not be much easier to put stickers in the back seat where the passengers have a number to call to report cab-drivers?
Cab and drivers already have ID numbers with the city and their company... passengers can see the driver's name and ID on their displayed credentials...
I've heard of paint that can block signals from coming in or out. Couldn't this be a safety hazard for the driver though?
Thoughts:
1) Yeah, I thought so, too, though presumably exceptions could be made.
2) I can't imagine it'd be possible to actively jam a phone that precisely, but perhaps the signal could be passively shielded somehow. A conducting film on the windows to turn the front portion of the cab into a Faraday cage, maybe?
isn't that kinda risky considering how much crime there is in new york?
1) who makes things illegal can make them legal.
2) faraday cages
The technology that blocks calls in the front of the car and not in the back of the car is known as "The inverse square law"
It seems pretty obvious that the solution is a Faraday cage around the front compartment.
The CB will still work for emergencies because the antenna is outside the car, and the back seat will still get reception because the cage will probably not cover that section.
Try Safety First, Inc. has the technology to do it legally. And all 911 calls can be made. Only phones inside the driver radius are disabled and there is no jammer involved. The technology is less than 1 month old.
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