The Solution Is No Longer Worse Than the Problem

OnStar Launches Stolen Vehicle Slowdown®

Who of us has not watched a dramatic nightly news report featuring the police chasing a stolen car and ending with a crash, causing damage to all the vehicles involved? In fact, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics reveal that 30,000 police chases occur each year, and result in approximately 300 deaths.

Now GM and OnStar have come up with a solution with their Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, available on more than 1 million model year 2009 GM vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. It works by sending a remote signal that interacts with the vehicle's engine and gradually slows it down, allowing law enforcement to recover it.

How Stolen Vehicle Slowdown Works

Once an OnStar subscriber has reported a stolen vehicle to law enforcement, he or she can call OnStar and request Stolen Vehicle Assistance. An OnStar advisor will use advanced Global Positioning Satellite technology to pinpoint the exact location of the stolen vehicle which will be provided only to law enforcement. 

 When the law enforcement officials have the stolen vehicle in a clear line of sight and know that conditions are safe, they will request that the OnStar advisor remotely slow it down. OnStar will then send a signal to the vehicle's engine, reducing engine power and gradually slowing the vehicle to idle speed while all other vehicle systems remain fully operational including power steering and brakes.

Best of all, the service is included in the OnStar subscription that comes standard for one year on eligible 2009 OnStar-equipped vehicles. 

onstar.com

Edited by Ellen Schofield