"Digital lasso"

How the police could shut down cars in future

(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

Simply driving after cars is not always effective for the police in pursuit. An inventor has now come up with a solution that could also help with car chases: a kind of digital lasso that simply lets cars roll out from a distance.

Risky car chases often lead to fender benders and personal injury. This could be prevented, says Friedrich-Wilhelm Veuhoff. The retired German engineer has developed a device with which the police could stop the fleeing vehicle by remote control.

The "system for the controlled immobilization of cars and trucks" quickly switches off the ignition by radio. The engine then stops and the vehicle slowly rolls out. The lockout can then only be lifted by the police. According to Veuhoff, this not only prevents dangerous getaways, but also attacks such as the one at the Christmas market in Magdeburg.

Immobilization via mobile phone signal
At the heart of the system is a small control unit with a mobile radio interface, which is to be fitted as standard or retrofitted to every registered car. If the police are pursuing a vehicle, all they have to do is enter the license plate number into an on-board terminal and send a digital stop command, which the control unit executes immediately. The process could also be automated: for example, using radio beacons that quickly immobilize suspicious vehicles at high-risk locations such as Christmas markets. Anyone approaching at excessive speed, for example, is automatically stopped.

Veuhoff has already applied for a patent for his invention and is now looking for investors. The full text will not be published until mid-2026, but he wants to make the details available to seriously interested parties in advance. He can also imagine selling the patent, he says. At the same time, he wants to campaign for the ignition cut-off at a political level. According to the inventor, a mandatory introduction could save lives and help prevent damage running into millions. He considers the costs to be manageable: the device itself would cost a small three-figure sum at most. Added to this would be the cost of checking the functionality of the device as part of the main inspection (equivalent to the sticker in Austria). This is necessary to prevent tampering.

According to his patent attorney, Veuhoff's approach differs from the known state of the art and enables controlled, immediate immobilization of vehicles with potentially dangerous driving behavior while on the road. Although today's increasingly networked vehicles can often be deactivated remotely, this only works for stationary vehicles. Renault, for example, caused a stir a few years ago. The car manufacturer had simply deactivated the electric cars of defaulting lessees at home by radio. According to Veuhoff, protection against improper immobilization by hackers is also an important advantage of the invention. Hackers have also regularly demonstrated that cars can be remotely immobilized - even while driving. However, this is only possible in modern cars with a high degree of connectivity. And even then not centrally by the police.