Photo: autoblog.nl
Update: It seems Google Translate (and Bing) really let us down. It's not Amsterdam, but a small city Delft. Other than that, everything we told you about Sauron and a world where you can't do handbrake turns is still true.
When Volkswagen unveiled the all-new Golf Sportsvan in 2014, we never thought anybody would ever describe this square-looking family vehicle as scary. Yet today, it's being compared to none other than Sauron from Lord of the Rings.
Amsterdam law enforcers have just stepped into the future with an automated mobile system that deals parking tickets. Usually, this job is done by underpaid social workers on scooters who have to brave the cold in order to scold people with a ticket under the wiper. But the Golf does things completely autonomously.
No, it doesn't drive on its own, but 360-degree cameras ensure nothing escapes the gaze of the snitchwagen.
Dutch publication Autoblog has compared this to the Eye of Sauron, an all-seeing force of evil. There's no work on exactly how the tickets are sent to the driver, but it's clear that the blue VW is a frightening sight in a congested city like Amsterdam. There's no more "I had a flat" or "I just popped into the shop for a packet of smokes". You'll get a letter in the main informing you that you broke the law and now have to pay the price.
And just like a police speed trap, by the time you see the guy with the laser gun, he has also seen you, so it's too late to do anything.
Technology and progress is clearly a double edges sword, as this machine makes us feel like the precogs from Minority Report are going to happen in a few years. Pretty soon, you won't even be able to do a handbrake turn without the police arresting you. Pretty soon, they should make a VW that also sniffs out the people who smoke marihuana, right?
No, it doesn't drive on its own, but 360-degree cameras ensure nothing escapes the gaze of the snitchwagen.
Dutch publication Autoblog has compared this to the Eye of Sauron, an all-seeing force of evil. There's no work on exactly how the tickets are sent to the driver, but it's clear that the blue VW is a frightening sight in a congested city like Amsterdam. There's no more "I had a flat" or "I just popped into the shop for a packet of smokes". You'll get a letter in the main informing you that you broke the law and now have to pay the price.
And just like a police speed trap, by the time you see the guy with the laser gun, he has also seen you, so it's too late to do anything.
Technology and progress is clearly a double edges sword, as this machine makes us feel like the precogs from Minority Report are going to happen in a few years. Pretty soon, you won't even be able to do a handbrake turn without the police arresting you. Pretty soon, they should make a VW that also sniffs out the people who smoke marihuana, right?
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