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UK to Put Monitors in Every Car?
wackoman2112 writes "The Sun is reporting that the UK government has plans to put a computerised spy in every car. This "spy" will record every single time a motorist goes slightly over the speed limit, into a bus lane, or stops on a yellow line! It will report this information to roadside sensors and you will soon receive a fine in the mail."
If they're going to be that way about it, they'd be better off having the road sensors set the speed of the car, making speeding impossible.
The Sun is a friend of the government. It is being used to test the waters. Then they can introduce something less draconian and we will be releived it wasn't as bad as we first thought.
This is great - what if you need to break one of these laws to prevent an accident?
Say (for example) someone doesn't see you, and cuts you off in traffic - you have two options.. you can swerve into the bus lane, or let them hit you (stopping traffic, raising your insurance rates, possibly causing injury)
I can see it now - if someone pisses you off in traffic, you just force them into a bus lane.. a month later, they get a fine!
Yeah, that's real fair.
Sounds like a good idea, judging by all the bad drivers on the road. How many countries retest their drivers throughout their lives? My UK drivers license (old style one) is valid until my 70th birthday in 2044... do you really think what I learnt today will be so relevant then?
Science Fiction deals with this sort of tech application on occasion. A term that has arisen to describe it is *pervasive policing*. Fictionally, it is not described as a social good.
I have concluded we have too many laws and the only thing that makes it tolerable is that the laws are not much enforced. Congress critters would take a different view.
But how important is general traffic enforcement to the safety of the people? Something this strict and intolerant of circumstance implies too much priority in minor infractions. What should the priorities of serving and protecting be?
Also, my insurance provider will absolutely hose me if I get more than a ticket a year. People make mistakes (such as not noticing a speed limit sign, or letting the car coast to too high a speed on descent) and if you are ticketed every single time, without the chance to explain/petition for otherwise, who is going to keep the insurance companies in check?
Maybe the Brits don't have mandatory insurance. I don't really know.
Getting diabetes AND salmonella would be a bad weekend.
Appart from the handle they used to place on the front to start the car and the fact they now go anywhere up to 6 times as fast. Indicators are also fitted now. So, apart from that, no real changes.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
The fact that something like this has been reported in "The Sun" really isn't a justifiable reason to believe that it is at all likely to happen. I used to read quite a lot of UK newspapers (I live there) and I have seen this or a very similar story published before, and nothing has ever happened about it. I fully expect the same thing to happen this time.
I am actually in favour of cracking down on people who recklessly break the law, but I think monitoring people's speed this way is not the way to go. For example, I know many people who would not think twice before doing speeds in excess of 50mph in a 30mph limit zone, these people could do with receiving punishment for such a thing. But IMO there is nothing wrong with doing 80/90mph along a country lane in the dark (the safest time - you can see traffic a long way off - and there is much less of it) providing, you, the car and the road can all handle that sort of speed. I would never consider doing speeds in excess of the limit in heavily populated areas. [for those of you who are not aware the speed limit on such roads is 60mph].
If this kind of technology is going to be introduced into vehicles in this country, then fair enough, thats the way its going to be, I think it would certainly take away some of the fun of driving, but in some ways I would rather know that I am being 'watched' constantly rather than having to keep looking to see where the speed camera is hidden.
BTW, WTF!!! is this colour scheme, its kind of maroon and puke yellow. its making me feel quite ill!!!!!
FYI I didn't RTFA - its the sun, there's nothing to read in the sun.
.sigs are for losers
too bad that speedometers aren't 100% exact. They simply display a sorta average of your speed. If it showed your exact speed while driving, the needle would jump around much quicker. (not quite as quick as the Tach, but it wouldn't be as smooth as it is now). This means that people who honestly believe they are going the speed limit may inadvertantly go a mile or two over (esp if they are accelerating quickly, then ease off right at the limit)
if you have GPS that can calculate speed, check it against your speedometer and you will see what I mean. (I didn't believe this either, till one of my friends used his GPS to prove it. Also, it would likely depend on how fine a resolution and how quickly your GPS refreshes... however, I am not a GPS expert by any means, esp since googling produces various opinions. some say that it's the error in the speedometer, some say it's intentional error in the GPS)
Monitoring people, in my opinion, seems a very untrusting way to do business. It automatically assumes that the observed need to be closely watched, creating a rather suspect environment. (I won't start screaming big brother, don't worry. You can argue this without invoking Orwell)
I don't know how the UK relys on speeding tickets as sources of income, but I am reminded of a story from florida. AAA near a florida town put up signs 6 miles outside the city that warned motorists of the 'speed trap' ahead in order to keep the speeding down. The local cops said that the signs were not allowed. Their reason? Revenues due to speeders were going down. In short, people were slowing down. You would think the cops would have been happy, right? No, they were upset because they claimed that they received 40% of the town budget and 105% of the police budget through fines. So, basically, they publically stated that they wanted people to speed. yea, yea, I know that's obvious, but I never dreamed in a million years that they would actually admit it. And what baffled me further was that hardly anyone cared! Their attitude was, "Of course that's why they don't want the signs there" instead of "isn't it outrageous that the cops actually admitted that!!"
My point of relating this story is, if the UK is simply doing this to generate new revenue, it's a very very shady deal. I think it reeks of greed and a dash of corruption, the privacy issues set aside. Also, what about those times when you *have* to speed? perhaps a car comes barralling down the road behind you and you need a quick burst of speed to avoid a collision? What about passing (overtaking). yea, I know you aren't supposed to go over the speed limit when you do that, but if you don't, passing is rather tough. I myself don't pass much, but when I do, I try to limit myself to 5mph over the speed limit.
-John
"The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and hoping for different results"
There has been some backlash, particularly in San Diego, but in other places as well. When the issues were challenged in court, systems were tested, and dozens of them around the country were found to have been calibrated improperly, and some people who were tagged as running red lights actually were driving legally.
:)
On a side note, I wonder if the number of people speeding would crash the system on the first day. Government's never been known for getting more mundane computing system requirements right on the first try. That would be amusing.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
Well, you've just shot yourself in the foot. I'd be quite happy to have a speed limit WARNING system in my car, even better if it were backed up by a variable speed limit system like the M25 has - but I'm a (fairly) responsible, fully paid up and accountable motorist. I'm not your problem NOW, and I won't be in the future whether there's a nanny-chip or not.
My remedy to traffic problems would go like this:
1) FINISH THE FUCKING ROAD SYSTEM! Christ on a bike it's a fucking shambles! Every day I drive down the A40 in and out of London. Three lanes all the way EXCEPT for the two lane bridge that has been there - due for widening - for nearly FORTY YEARS. Finish the M23/A23. Finish the M4. Finish the A406. There are HUNDREDS of partially built major roads all over the country, and it's time they were finished so we can at least see if the original strategy had any merit.
2) Impose a separate (and punitive) testing and regulation system for private vehicles of over 2000Kg. Make School bus use COMPULSORY where applicable.
3) Toll new road projects to get them out of the meddling hands of government, and get blighted properties PROPERLY compensated as part of the road building business plan.
4) Enforce strict Diesel particulate limits in cities - STRONGLY encourage the use of hybrid / zero emission vehicles by public transport providers.
These four measures are really just the start of a realistic approach to road transport in the UK, with a ridiculous 4% of total journeys made by rail these days, it's even arguable that the whole rail system be shut down with the main and branch lines turned into roads.
That was classic intercourse!