[oldfogey]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4610755.stm

The government needs to raise taxation, and road users need more roads, so logical step, tax road users on usage.

Oh, and if we can do it by GPS sensors we can automatically further increase taxation with all those speeding fines on people who are, after all, breaking the law. Gets more money to the Police authorities who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford those generous pensions as the ageing workforce retires.

Car CO2 use has dropped drastically on new cars, but not on old. Get rid of more old cars by eliminating the ones that can't have a GPS sensor fitted as part of the MOT.

Illegal use of cars without GPS sensors? S** that, only law respecting people pay taxes anyway.

Motorcycles? Damn nuisance with high national health service costs and competing demands for limited resources. If they want to pay the same as a car and stay within the speed limits and can put a GPS sensor on, I suppose we can't actually ban them. Can we?

[Baketech]

Would the U.S. recieve any portion of those levies in exchange for supplying the GPS system...if so, I think it's a great idea...

[EDDIE110171]

Talk about big brother watching you.

[oldfogey]

True, in the Big Brother house everyone is bugged.

But none of them get taxed or fined for their behaviour in the house .

[phobiaphobe]

They sure police the **** out of you poor limeys. I'm afraid that Canada is going in the same direction. Fogey, be the first on your block to install a "cracked" gps.

[oldfogey]

IF it happens, and that's a mighty big IIIFFF given the UK dislike of being tracked by officialdom, it will certainly make track riding very attractive.

[phobiaphobe]

... the charges, aimed at cutting congestion, would replace road tax and petrol duty....

One truism I've learned from politicians is that they never remove a tax, only add new ones.

[phobiaphobe]

your dislike for being tracked hasn't overcome your government's love for new revenue. Don't you have traffic and speed cameras (gatsos or whatever you call them) sprouting up all over the place? We sure as hell do. I think there are over 50 red-light cameras in my city now (population about 900000) and at any given time there are about 8 or 9 mobile photo radar traps in operation.

[oldfogey]

Yes, lots of static cameras sprouting as fast as they can use the revenues left over from the current batch after deductions for pension contributions. Toleration limits are lowering too. Used to be 77mph in a 70mph (max) liimit but there's a new batch with a 73mph tolerance on one motorway section.

There are sensible ones, mostly for people shooting red lights on junctions and ones around accident black spots, but the balance has changed out of recognition towards revenue raising, just like in Australia.

Sad to hear you're going the same way in Canada. Is that city or province specific?

[Purpdust]

Originally Posted by oldfogey

it will certainly make track riding very attractive.

Just don't forget to disable the GPS, I would not want you to get a hefty ticket on the strait every lap.

[phobiaphobe]

Originally Posted by oldfogey

Yes, lots of static cameras sprouting as fast as they can use the revenues left over from the current batch after deductions for pension contributions. Toleration limits are lowering too. Used to be 77mph in a 70mph (max) liimit but there's a new batch with a 73mph tolerance on one motorway section.

jesus, that's well within speedometer error margin

Originally Posted by oldfogey

There are sensible ones, mostly for people shooting red lights on junctions and ones around accident black spots, but the balance has changed out of recognition towards revenue raising, just like in Australia.

Don't be too convinced that they're there in intersections to prevent collisions... legislators have been known to decrease yellow light times from 4 to 2 seconds to jack up revenue with these lights. The police here are gloating about side-impact collisions being reduced, but for some reason they haven't mentioned the dramatic increase of rear-enders.

Originally Posted by oldfogey

Sad to hear you're going the same way in Canada. Is that city or province specific?

This is the ironic part; I live in conservative, freedom-loving Alberta, and I think we have more cameras than anywhere else in the nation. Meanwhile, in socialist British Columbia, photo radar has been banned for a few years. I think their current Liberal legislature defeated the previous NDP (socialist) government using the elimination of photo-radar as a big part of their platform.

[luvtolean]

In the US we'd sue. Are there any rights organizations in the UK that could do that?

[oldfogey]

There's a couple of bodies who are motorist or motorcyclist protective and the European Court of Justice seems the place to go for civil rights these days.

But I wouldn't think they'd stop a government doing something like this.....

Once people have had time to understand the implications, I would assume a big backlash against the GPS part of the proposal. Road pricing using tolls would be generally acceptable if they used cameras like in London or toll booths for new roads.

[oldfogey]

Originally Posted by Purpdust

Just don't forget to disable the GPS, I would not want you to get a hefty ticket on the strait every lap.

Noooo, we'd all need a track bike .

[luvtolean]

Originally Posted by oldfogey

There's a couple of bodies who are motorist or motorcyclist protective and the European Court of Justice seems the place to go for civil rights these days.

But I wouldn't think they'd stop a government doing something like this.....

Yeah, in the US it wouldn't be the automotive right's groups that would ultimately win...it'd be the cries of "racism" and "taxing the poor" that would kill something like that in short order...

[phobiaphobe]

The only toll road I've driven on was the 407 in Toronto. That's a privately owned road though, and they just used automated photos of your license plate. I don't see the need for GPS to collect a toll. It's clearly to enforce highway traffic laws and boost revenue.

[Purpdust]

The good thing about the 407 is that they do not care if you make it from one side to the other before you are suppose to. Unlike the Toll road in Florida (maybe one one can confirm) They can ticket you if you made it between entry and exit too fast.

[EDDIE110171]

Originally Posted by Purpdust

Unlike the Toll road in Florida (maybe one one can confirm) They can ticket you if you made it between entry and exit too fast.

I have never heard of anyone getting a ticket for this. There were people worried about it on the Florida Turnpike, when they started using the toll cards and you don't pay until you get of the toll road. I have traveled on it fast enough to get a ticket between the tolls and never got one.

[sheepofblue]

Well y'all turned in your guns so suck it up and turn on the GPS chip in your a## cause there ain't spit you can do about it....

[oldfogey]

Is that another blue sheep comment?

[sheepofblue]

Originally Posted by oldfogey

Is that another blue sheep comment?

I think I see the scar on your left cheek from the implant