
BMW remotely locks car thief in stolen vehicle until cops arrive - GFischer
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/bmw-remotely-locks-car-thief-stolen-vehicle-until-164227388.html
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goerz
I find it highly alarming that that car doors wouldn't have a manual override.
What if the car is in an accident, causing both a fire and a malfunction in
the electronics that locks the doors? Human beings should always have the last
words over computers in an emergency!

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kw71
The deadlock is not activated when the doors are locked from the inside. The
telematics center apparently sent a command to activate the deadlock as if it
were locked from the outside. He may have been able to open the doors if he
knew how the system works.

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throwaway7767
I think the GP's point is that electronics should never be able to keep
someone in the car, regardless of the circumstances in which that behavior is
triggered. What happens if the control chip gets fried in a lightning storm
and the output pin that controls the lock gets stuck high? No software will
save you from that.

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kw71
> What happens if the control chip gets fried in a lightning storm and the
> output pin that controls the lock gets stuck high?

This is a ridiculous corner case and I can't tell whether you're serious. So:
"output pins" from "control chips" are active low.

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throwaway7767
What a silly thing to be pedantic about. It doesn't change anything - the
output could get stuck at either state. Moreover, it was meant as an easily
understood _example_. Can you really not envision a software bug that would
lock someone in the car? The point is, the mechanical design should allow the
occupant to get out, regardless of any fault in the electronics or software.

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shakna
How long before an inconvenient journalist can be locked in their car?

