GB: Drivers may be taxed per mile (Satellites and computers would track motorists)

News.Com.AU ^ | 09Jun03 | staff writer

[yankeedame]

Drivers may be taxed per mile

June 9, 2003

THE British government is studying a model to tax motorists country-wide based on the time they spend on the road, according to reports.

Satellites and computers would track motorists in order to bill them for the specific route they take, Minister of Transport Alistair Darling said to the British weekly.

Commuters, school-run parents and motorway users would bear the brunt of a variable system, where charges would be highest for rush-hour travel and for using the most congested roads. Use of motorways in Britain is currently gratis.

While tracking 24 million British motorists by satellite would undoubtedly bring up civil liberty issues, Darling argued that the issue of road tax was unavoidable.

"We have a choice in the next 25 to 30 years," he said.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

based on the time they spend on the road,

Unfair, speeders would be rewarded for driving faster than others!

How do they propose to implement this?

Sensors everywhere?

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[cogitator]

I think that the phrasing is inaccurate. "The time they spend on the road" is time of day, not length of time. This is a variant of other congestion pricing methods. The key is that they would be assessed according to the route they take.

Check out how the Singapore system works; it's a system that will start showing up in more cities worldwide as traffic congestion worsens. London's new system is similar.

[RJL]

Use of motorways in Britain is currently gratis.

How nice, I have to wonder who or what organization is so wealthy and benevolent that they pay to build and maintain the motorways?

I would have thought this was paid for by users through their taxes, but in Britain it’s free.

And Momma said there was no such thing as a free lunch!

[chachacha]

Where do you purchase them Russian made jammers they used in the Iraq war?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Apparently you haven't been following the news in GB. They have cameras virtually everywhere. It is said that the average Londoner is observed by no less than a dozen government security cameras on the way to work.

They have traded their freedom for the security of a jail cell and don't even realize it.

[Numbers Guy]

There's a simpler method if they want to tax people based on how much they drive and on how much they use heavily congested roads:

For congested roads, a variable toll system (similar to that used on some tollways in California).

For overall driving, a gas tax. After all, the more you drive the more gas you burn. Even better for the greenies, the lower your gas mileage the more you pay per mile.

It's a far simpler solution, far less costly to implement, and raises far fewer civil liberties questions. I sure as heck wouldn't want the government recording my whereabouts--there's no reason for the government to have that information.

[Centurion2000]

Where do you purchase them Russian made jammers they used in the Iraq war?

Or better yet .... put Faraday cage material and tinfoil all over the sides and top of your car.

Chrome paint jobs with metallic molecules suspended in the paint could become popular.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I am in California, and have not been following what is happening in Great Britain!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Tinfoil for your car , great idea!

[Defiant]

Now I know what I'm going to do for my next business venture: small gps blockers for the car!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

It has to be said: technology is in hand to take the fun out of auto driving. Satellite traking of cars, yes--but what of the possibility of putting a "black box" in each car which would remember when/where/how fast each car was operated? And subject to review by your insurance company as well as the police?

[Tijeras_Slim]

[VoiceOfBruck]

Satellites and computers would track motorists in order to bill them for the specific route they take, Minister of Transport Alistair Darling said to the British weekly.

"Honey, why are we being billed for all these trips to Yorkinghamshire?"

[dead]

They're going to be embarrassed when the data shows that none of them drive to the dentist.

[AF_Blue]

Use of motorways in Britain is currently gratis.

It depends on what your definition of "gratis" is. When I was there '88-'93 I had to pay for car inspection, road tax, and gas tax. I understand gas currently is about $5/gal in England, 80% of which is taxes.

[FairOpinion]

"THE British government is studying a model to tax motorists country-wide based on the time they spend on the road, according to reports. "

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California has been looking into some such insanity too.

[D. Brian Carter]

Oregon is looking into this very program. Check out: Driving While Intaxicated

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFLMAO!!!!

[yankeedame]

"Honey, why are we being billed for all these trips to Yorkinghamshire?"

"That's funny, 'cause I was going to ask you the same thing."