Felony Friday: Charged With A Felony For Leaving Corvette In Valet Mode
The 2015 Corvette Stingray could land you in big trouble with the law, but not in the way you would expect. When people think of Corvettes and breaking the law, they typical assume speed is responsible. But there is another aspect of the Corvette Stingray that could land you in much more trouble than a speeding ticket and the high-end car doesn’t even have to be moving to land you in jail for a long time.The Stingray is equipped with a feature called Valet Mode. Valet Mode is a common feature for many high-end cars. When turned on it allows the owner to limit the functionality of certain features and even limit the horsepower. The Stingray's Valet Mode has a perk that other luxury cars do not, a Performance Data Recorder (PDR). The PDR is an in dash camera that allows owners to record audio and video that the owner can then watch on the car’s screen or download to a computer. The PDR also is password protected to prevent tech savvy valets from turning it off when they enter the vehicle.Now for the part that can land you in the slammer. It is illegal in thirteen states to record someone without their consent. GM somehow overlooked this inconvenient truth when rolling out the vehicle, but has quickly attempted to put out the fire before one of their customers gets in trouble and pulls GM into the mix.The following letter was sent to Chevy dealers. GM is advising Corvette owners to not use Valet Mode, because of potential legal issues surrounding the PDRs ability to record audio and video.From jalopnik.com:
This notice is being sent to you regarding 2015 model year Corvettes equipped with the Performance Data Recorder (UQT).The Performance Data Recorder (UQT) in these vehicles, when used in Valet Mode, allows a customer to record the driving of their Corvette when the vehicle is not in their control. In Valet Mode, the PDR will also record activity and conversations that take place in the vehicle.
To help our customers use the Performance Data Recorder (UQT) consistent with legal requirements that pertain to audio recording devices, we will be requiring a very important update to the system of each affected vehicle in the near future. We expect that the update will be available early next month. At that time, we will provide details about the update and let you know what steps you need to take, if any, to complete the update for vehicles in your inventory.
In the meantime, you must advise any customers who take delivery of an impacted vehicle that they should refrain from using the Valet Mode until the update takes place. If they do use the Valet Mode, they should (i) notify any occupants of the vehicle that they will be recorded while in the vehicle, and (ii) obtain their consent to this recording. It is very important that you explain this to each customer at the time of delivery.
For all of the super-rich, luxury car driving readers out there please heed the advice of General Motors and do not use Valet Mode in your shiny new Corvette.It is interesting that the governments in thirteen states see no irony with laws existing on the books that “protect” individuals from being recorded without their consent, but these same governments operate in defiance to this principle by enforcing many man-made laws to which people do not consent. Individuals are quick to object when other individuals or businesses trespass on their property or invade their privacy without their consent, but neglect to hold government to the same standard.Check out our past editions of Felony Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
