Road Pricing

[OwenGT3]

Hi,

Someone sent me this link:

Road Pricing

I know this isn't new news, but it looks like this government wants to make this happen before they get kicked out. The thing is we all know it just won't end with road pricing, you're not gonna tell me they won't use this as the new speed trap alternative.

Apparently some cars record accident information when the air bag goes off, but this new box is the full on works of monitoring your every move!

1984 here we come!

I hate them! Time to start looking at moving out of the UK!

Owen

Edited August 18, 2008 by OwenGT3

[rogerch]

"The private sector was being run by the government, and the public sector wasn't being run by anybody". Margaret Thatcher commenting on the Callahan era. Looks like you've gone full circle.

Roger

[tonyp]

'Good afternoon officer, how can I help you. Black box not working ? oh I'm sorry, its been ok since installed & sealed 3 months ago. yes, I know it can't be tampered with. I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing. These Lotus cars though, they have a history of poor electrical earthing, maybe the E-Install team didn't check the fitting properly, you can't get the staff can you these days. Yes, I promise I'll book the car in for re-education straight way .......'

[andydclements]

Sorry officer, it must have been damaged in the most recent under-water excursion, you must recall seing that in the movies. I'll get it dried out with a hair dryer immediately.

[Mark Blanchard]

I know what they'd do, they'd make the in-car boxes the property of the Governement and the Driver's responsible for keeping them in good order. And you'd get a thumping great big fine if they broke or were tampered with.

[Spiggsy]

There was a discussion here in Canada (or maybe just Ontario) at one point about something very similar .... but wildly different !

There was talk of putting GPS sensors of some sort into new vehicles with a direct link to speed limiting. So when you are in a 50km/h area you cannot accelerate past it.

I live in fear of that day ... it will be the end of modern motoring if it ever gets out.

[Guy W Johnson]

So here is a dumb question.

So if they can monitor you, and they can also ticket you for speeding. What happens if you go to a race track?

Guy

[Bibs]

The GPS will know you're there! The Nissan GT-R does and changes it's ECU/suspension/other stuff settings when you arrive at a track!

[nello]

Pistonheads report 100 volunteers are testing this - who would feckin' volunteer for that?!?!

Apparently if approved every one of us will have to pay for the 'priviledge' of having them installed too ......to Brown and his cronies

[rogerch]

And you thought Blair was bad. Guy Fawkes had the right idea don't you think.

[DanR]

Same thing is being trialled around the country here too. I dred the day we are legally required to fit them.

Imagine a day out enjoying quiet back roads only to arrive home to find the police waiting to confiscate your licence.

I reckon within 10 years GPS monitoring will be legally mandated for all vehicles.

[Spiggsy]

The thing I worried about ... if this speed chip monitoring ever took effect in Canada ... what would happen if say I am on a "fast" *cough* 100km/h highway and a 50km/h ancillary runs over it ... is the engine going to choke ... is the guy behind me in an older vehicle going to ram my arse as my fuel cuts-out ?

[Gasman GT3]

Seems to me it would be far cheaper just to employ the unemployed to walk infront of all cars holding a red flag, it would have the same effect. I seem to remember this was tried about a 100 years ago, didn't work then either.

If anyone is old enough to remember the TV series Branded with Chuck Conners, then what happened to him in the title sequence should happen to all those who volunteered to trial this, they are not worthy to hold a set of car keys

[molemot]

I sometimes think our days are so numbered that the only way to enjoy motoring will be to buy something truly OLD, 1900 to 1920ish, and get pleasure from the mere fact of being able to move about at all...speed limits wouldn't be an issue, and a nice sunny day would still be enjoyable behind the controls. I'm lucky, inasmuch as those of us born at the right time (immediately post WW2) have had the best of everything; unrestricted roads, no cameras, far less Big Brother (in the Eric Blair sense, not that cretinous TV programme), good education, health care, job availability...yep, pretty much everything. Trouble is, we know what we're missing!! I'll still carry on as normal...we'll all be road pirates and denizens of the dark in the end!! Time to hoist the Jolly Roger.....

[karluk29]

seems a PH member is one of the designers on this and has posted that its not very reliable at all, the money its takes to run the system is stupid and a metal plate stops it working so dont worry lol

[USAndretti42]

The stand-alone GPS navigator we have in the wife's car takes 10 minutes or more to pick up enough satellites and often loses the signal. To get good tracking a system needs an external antenna, gyros and connections to the speedo to use dead reckoning when the satellites are lost. That's a big job to fit to something like an old Lotus without an electronic speedo or somewhere to put the box. There would also need to be somewhere to put the DVD player carrying all the maps as that information isn't on the satellites. Where would it go? What if you have a Lotus 7 or Aerial Atom? Even less room and the joke about the box getting wet becomes really relevant with the lack of weather protection in those. Where would it go on a motorbike or is it just cars that are being targeted?

[OwenGT3]

You think our cars are old, what about ones like this? How the hell do you fit modern technology to this sort of car!

Also does this mean all the tax exempt vehicles have to start paying? I can see these older cars becoming more attractive if you don't have to pay for road use.

My mate reckons it won't end with cars, they won't be happy until we all have a chip under the skin, my parents dog has one so you can track him, it was fitted as he was from a rescue home.

Owen

Edited August 20, 2008 by OwenGT3

[DanR]

...If anyone is old enough to remember the TV series Branded with Chuck Conners, then what happened to him in the title sequence should happen to all those who volunteered to trial this, they are not worthy to hold a set of car keys...

The government here avoids that by using public workers and vehicles for the testing.

[OwenGT3]

I was insured with NU at the time they started to test this black box technology, they are one of the major players in using this technology, they asked if I would take part in the trials........................................I declined!

Owen.

[Gasman GT3]

If NU are involved then we have no worries, they are still trying to send an engineer out to inspect a car I don't even own!!

[doct93]

Bearing in mind I can't even get a reliable mobile phone signal, no terrestial TV reception, my fastest broadband is about 300k and I had to beg Mr Sky TV man to keep looking for a satellite signal before I got hooked up - I reckon we're safe in Cornwall my 'ansomes!

Mind you - the rain means not much fun anyway at the minute......

Tim B