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UK To Passively Monitor Every Vehicle
DrSkwid writes "The UK Police are building a network to monitor the movement of every vehicle in the U.K. through an extensive Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system. The data will be retained for 2 years. The Register further reports that the system will likely be used for issuing speeding fines." From the article: "The primary aims claimed for the system are tackling untaxed and uninsured vehicles, stolen cars and the considerably broader one of 'denying criminals the use of the roads.' But unless the Times has got the spacing wrong, having one every quarter of a mile on motorways quite clearly means they'll be used to enforce speed limits as well, which would effectively make the current generation of Gatsos obsolete. Otherwise, checking a vehicle's tax and insurance status every 15 seconds or thereabouts would seem overkill."
walk 0p to a 4lay
Are you an idiot? Use Google you lazy bastard.
The company that "does no evil" but shows me ads at every corner? Ah, no thanks.
"Piter, too, is dead."
Seashells!!!
I'm sure you're one of the same bicyclists that never impedes traffic, stops at all stop signs, at red lights waits till their green even if there is no traffic oncoming and generally follows the same rules motorists have to...
Paying for bandwidth is one thing. These guys make plenty of money above the hosting costs.
"Piter, too, is dead."
That margin is what we in the business world call 'profit'. Profit is something that all companies strive for as it allows you to do really nice things like R&D, paying more to your stockholders (like Granny's 401k), and expand into new markets.
/sarcasm
If you make enough profit you might even be able to give your employee's who brought you the profit another thing that is rather nice: a raise. This is the typical reward for brining in more profit and allows them to do nice things like take their kids to Disney Land.
Remember folks, slashdot doesn't have a -1 "disagree" moderation!
Kiss my a$$ and moderate this as troll/flamebait. I don't care!
Your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
You mean the rules that motorists don't follow? I so tire of hearing this argument from people who never step on a bicycle. Most cyclists drive safely and sanely, they have no choice. Many motorists drive carelesly without regard to the safety of themselves and others. I witness tailgating, speeding, california stops, non-stops, foolishness, chatting while driving, eating while driving, etc etc etc almost every day. The vast majority of motorists seem to be completely self centered and behave as if they are the only person on the road. It never ceases to amaze me when people speed around me (while I'm driving my car) only to stop at the same red light which has been clearly visible for however long.
When a cyclist does the things you've mentioned it's usually a calculated decision based on saftey and efficiency. Since all motorists have to do to go faster is push their feet to the floor they probably have no idea what it means to conserve energy. In almost all cases, a cyclist will be less in your way if he is not waiting at the intersection but rather a few feet ahead of you. Going through the intersection when it is clear, rather than waiting for the light, is a safety move. You now see him, he is out of the intersection, and you can plan how you will pass him.
When a cyclist pulls into the left lane to make a left turn and rides down the middle of the lane it is for safety. If he rides too far to the right of the lane, you will just pull up next to him preventing him from making the left turn, same thing if he rides to the left, except to the left it's even worse as now he is close to oncoming traffic. So you're "impeded" for a few seconds, big deal. Why don't you take that few seconds to think about how you aren't doing a damn thing to improve your health and the health of others and he is.
Most cyclists do "generally" follow the rules of the road. But the reason they follow them is for the safety of their own lives. We don't eat hamburgers or talk on cell phones while we drive, speed carelessly, drive vehicles that weigh several tons, tear up the roads etc etc.
Bicycles are not cars and they aren't as dangerous as cars. When a cyclist drives through an intersection he's not going to kill someone with the mass of his bicycle. His experience tells him it's the safe thing to do. Your expectation that they should behave exactly as cars betrays your self centered approach to driving. Are you THAT much in a hurry that a few seconds of inconvenience every now and then is a big deal?
Cyclists generally don't survive an accident with a motorist. In almost all cases, however, cyclists don't get killed because they are doing the things you are talking about. Cyclists get killed because motorists are driving carelessly.
Stop being bitter that cyclists can get away with things that you can't as a motorist. They pay for it going up the next hill. The next time you see a cyclist doing one of those things, ask yourself if there isn't a safety advantage for him for doing what he's doing. I know that's the ONLY reason I do those things. My goal is to stay out of harms way and as visible as possible. We aren't trying to get over, we're trying to stay alive while we stay healthy.
Wanted: Clever sig, top $ paid, all offers considered.