Originally Posted by Wired News
Prodding Car Thieves to Reform
Ilan Greenberg Email 07.23.98 | 9:30 AM
For some car owners, preventing theft means a scrawled sign taped to a side window announcing "No radio inside." Others might opt for a steering-wheel lock or car-alarm system.
But regardless of how effective these prevention methods may be, they don't provide what many red-blooded car owners really want: the delivery of real, physical pain to the intruder.
Enter the Auto Taser.
Described by its manufacturer, Taser International, as the first electric prod for the average car, it's a US$250 device that turns the steering wheel into a 50,000-volt force field. The company claims that 50,000 volts shimmering through a human body is less damaging than sticking your hand in a wall socket, but considerably more electricity than is generated by sliding your feet across a shag carpet.
The Taser system is non-lethal and won't affect heart pacers or cause other medical complications, according to the company, which is quick to note that intentionally harming intruders in a serious way other than in self-defense is illegal. Cardiology specialists, however, said that the company may be on thin ice with its safety claims.
"I would think of myself as a criminal if I attached one of these to my car," says Chuck Witherell, a clinical nurse specialist for the rhythm disturbance clinic at the University of California at San Francisco. "If I were in the product liability department at this company I would think twice before claiming it can do no harm. It doesn't take much for something to be abrupt and weird enough to do the trick."
When a thief enters a car and attempts to touch the steering wheel or grab the Auto Taser device, the system lets off a deafening 130-decibel siren from inside the car. A few seconds later, Auto Taser gets serious, setting off an electrical force through both the steering wheel and the car radio with enough punch to "definitely cause a week of bad hair days," says Tina Miller-Steinke, a spokeswoman for Taser International.
According to one physician, though, it could cause a lot more damage than frizzled hair.
"My worry is that anybody who has any kind of disturbance with pacemakers or a history of irregular heartbeats, or someone who is frail and elderly, doesn't need a 50,000-volt charge in their body," says Harlan Gibbs, an emergency room physician with expertise in electrical shock problems at Adventist Health/Southern California, a hospital in Glendale. "I would be curious to hear whether anyone has experienced this with some kind of metal object on their body, like a watch. You can't say there's no chance [for serious health harm]. This can't be good for people with marginal health."
And even though the average car thief is likelier to be young and healthy than old or sickly, doctors don't dismiss the danger of accidental contact.
Taser International insists its devices cause no harm.
"The Auto Taser gives out only one-one thousandth of an amp, which in layman's terms, is like less than the power to light a small Christmas tree bulb," says Steinke. "The power of the Taser is not powerful enough to interrupt a pulse or affect a heartbeat. You can get harmed by anything in an accident, but the Auto Taser is not lethal. It's like a hot stove: it's an initial shock. Of course, if you keep your hand on it, you'll get stung. But it will not cause any permanent damage."
The wireless technology behind the car system is similar to the company's other best-selling modern protection aid, the Air Taser. The Air Taser delivers a menacing electrical shock through a handheld device and is sold in two different versions to consumers and to law enforcement officials.
"Our customers asked us if we could make an Air Taser for cars and we thought that was a good idea," says Steinke.
The Auto Taser recently was unveiled in Los Angeles, a city no one accuses of not taking cars seriously, and has already been picked up by about 300 retailers in the area, according to the company. Car-theft meccas Miami, New York, and Dallas are the next markets, and the company eventually hopes to sell Auto Taser nationally.
