Big brother in UK!!!

**u4ea** · 9th February 2007, 11:54

just got sent this.....dam scary tactics indeed !!

From: info@motorcycle-junction.co.uk

There are only 12 days left to register your objection to the 'Pay as you go' road tax Ë† which closes to petitions on the 20th February 2007. The petition is on the 10 Downing St website but they didn't tell anybody about it. Therefore at this time only 671,354 people have signed it so far and 750,000 signatures are required to stop them introducing it. Once you've given your details (you don't have to give your full address, just house number and postcode will do), they will send you an email with a link in it. Once you click on that link, you'll have signed the petition. Democracy in action? The government's proposal to introduce road pricing will mean you having to purchase a tracking device for your bike / car and paying a monthly bill to use it. The tracking device will cost about Â£200 and in a recent study by the BBC, the lowest monthly bill was Â£28 for a rural florist and Â£194 for a delivery driver. A non working mother who used the car to take the kids to school paid Â£86 in one month. On top of this massive increase in tax, you will be tracked. Somebody will know where you are at all times. They will also know how fast you have been going, so even if you accidentally creep over a speed limit in time you can probably expect a Notice of Intended Prosecution with your monthly bill. If you care about our freedom and stopping the constant bashing of the driver, please sign the petition on No 10's new website (link below) and pass this on to as many people as possible." http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/ PLEASE sign up...

**Switch** · 9th February 2007, 11:56

Wonder if you could 'accidently' rip the gps tracker off and leave it in your garage?

**Pwalo** · 9th February 2007, 12:08

This has been on the radar in the UK for some time. It raises a whole lot of questions, and I imagine poses a hell of a logistical nightmare for any one concerned with the program.

What happens if you don't pay for a box? What happens if your box is damaged/stolen/lost? Who is going to monitor and arrange billing from the system? What sort of appeal system is there going to be if there is a problem? How do they track you in a tunnel, carpark, garage?

Just imagine the paper snarl up that a system like this could create.

**phaedrus** · 10th February 2007, 23:25

yikes, well i've signed up on that. I hope they use gps, at least that's opt out

**Manxman** · 18th February 2007, 19:45

...Crazy rule

...I'm in (signed)

**davereid** · 27th February 2007, 15:52

Have a look on transits web site - weigh-in-motion technology.

You may have noticed those light green boxes on the side of the road near intersections.

They contain traffic counting equipment.

But they can also weigh vehicles passing over, and measure the distance between axels.

That makes it very easy to track an individual vehicle, as its unlikely that multiple vehicles with exactly the same dimensions and axel weights will enter and leave an intersection at the same time.

But its only the backup technology.

The GPS unit is the main tool, the other stuff is just to allow easy tracking of vehicles that dont have, or have disabled the GPS.

They expect massive resistance to the plan, so they had to have a good enforcement system in place to catch evaders.

The consultants for the UK scheme are online at
http://www.hyderconsulting.com/its/

You'll see lots of evidence of the interest they have in NZ - several of the example sites use NZ photos.

So sorry guys, not only is big brother in the UK, he has a ticket here, paid for by the NZ taxpayer. (No wonder Transit have no money to spend on roads !)

**pete376403** · 27th February 2007, 19:33

The picture on the Hyder website shows a car with what looks like an NZ number plate passing an illuminated "80" speed limit sign, as installed at Ngauranga. IIRC some $5mill was spent installing these signs and associated gantries, etc. Much was made of the fact that the speed limit signs could be altered as required. However as there is a speed camera in the Gorge set for 80k, then that becomes the defacto limit, regardless of what the signs are set for. Another example of Transit profilgacy.

**Ixion** · 27th February 2007, 19:42

From their website

The identification of non-payment or incorrect payment of road tolls or road use charges is of critical importance to the success of any system. A method is usually required to validate that vehicles have been correctly identified and correlated with the applicable payment record.
In any free-flow environment, where vehicles are not required to stop at the point of payment, the enforcement system design must be robust and resilient, with a high "availability", secure (tamper/vandal resistant) and easy to maintain.
Hyder Consulting has designed enforcement systems and services for many tolling schemes and for the lorry charging schemes in the UK, the Czech Republic and New Zealand. Our services include:

So, woz all that about then? Is there something that someone isn't telling us?

**pete376403** · 27th February 2007, 19:51

Are trucks still using hub odos for verification of distance or do they have something a bit fancier now?

**JMemonic** · 27th February 2007, 21:46

Originally Posted by pete376403

Are trucks still using hub odos for verification of distance or do they have something a bit fancier now?

As I understand it the hub odo is still the standard but some companies are fitting GPS to determine when the vehicle goes off public roads and then claiming back the road tax that is paid for all off road mileage, this works well for rural contractors with some of them getting up to half their mileage costs back

**davereid** · 28th February 2007, 08:45

Originally Posted by Ixion

So, woz all that about then? Is there something that someone isn't telling us?

Yeah maybe I'm paranoid, but I saw these roadside boxes appearing about 5 years ago.

I also noticed adverts in the Dominion from Transit seeking staff to manage our new electronic tolling network.

All this years before the G'mint even announced that they were looking at road tolling - an idea I abhor.

**Mr Merde** · 28th February 2007, 08:58

Originally Posted by davereid

Yeah maybe I'm paranoid, but I saw these roadside boxes appearing about 5 years ago.

I also noticed adverts in the Dominion from Transit seeking staff to manage our new electronic tolling network.

All this years before the G'mint even announced that they were looking at road tolling - an idea I abhor.

No use getting paranoid. These things will happen and there is very little you can do about it. The government decides what they want and it is our function in life to accept, that theirs is the better vision for the rest of your life.

Things like this dont happen overnight. They are years in the planning and logistics. What happens overnight is the implementation of whatever is deemed good for you.

There is no reason to complain. The government and their minions only have your welfare at heart. All revenue gathered will only go into making life as sterile, safe and as boring as posible for you.

**davereid** · 28th February 2007, 09:05

Thanks for cheering me up !

**Mr Merde** · 28th February 2007, 09:13

Originally Posted by davereid

Thanks for cheering me up !

I'm good at that. I must be related to Cassandra.

From Wilki

"
In Greek mythology, Cassandra (Greek: Κασσάνδρα "she who entangles men") (also known as Alexandra) was a daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy whose beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy. However, when she did not return his love, Apollo placed a curse on her so that no one would ever believe her predictions.... "