Snap! Now pay your road toll
Camera tech used to replace Dartford toll-booths will be designed for rollout across the country
That traffic-snarling impediment on the southside of the Thames crossing will be replaced in October 2014 with cameras that'll snap each passing vehicle, much like they do within the London congestion charge.
You'll go online to pay for each individual trip, or set up an account. Don't pay and you'll get a fine in the post, currently proposed at between £35 to £105 depending how quickly you pay.
This is great news for those using the crossing, if you can get over your anger that the tolls to pay for the 1991 bridge were supposed to be dropped in 2003.
But the camera tech won't just be used for Dartford, according to the Highways Agency. "We're seeking to future proof it to make sure if there were similar applications elsewhere they would be able to take the innovations and apply them," a spokesman told PistonHeads. "It would be a starting point."
The tender for the technology went out to private companies back in September, but it'll be owned by the Government to apply where they like, and without needing barriers or tags or any of the other expensive toll infrastructure you see on the Continent.
Road pricing is one of the proposals to replace the current VED, it emerged back in September, and the government is known to be mulling tolls to pay for the upgrading of roads such as the A14 in the east of England.
And just in case you're still thinking 'they wouldn't have the guts...', then the government has just released a consultation into the fines that would be levied if you drive past the cameras without paying. "One of the largest challenges in operating a barrier free or 'free-flow' operated road user charging scheme is gaining a high level of payment compliance," the consultation document notes. "Without both physical barriers and the provision to enforce, there would be little to ensure that road users complied."
So, of course, they're proposing fines, to the tune of £60, rising to £180 if you ignore their letters. According to the Highways Agency, foreign drivers who skip through would be chased by European debt collection agencies.
It certainly looks like charging is inevitable, which means we're all going to have to be very vigilant that any extra fees are accompanied by reductions elsewhere in the myriad taxes we pay.
The tailbacks at the Dartford tunnel and crossing will be a thing of history - but how much would people be prepared to pay for that convenience? Yes, it should be a right - but once the fog has cleared on the rose tints, simple fact is that there are too many of us crammed onto this little island!
So, like all good news from the Govt, it's swiftly followed with a kick in the balls.
These toll (spy) camera will be on major roads over the next few years. It's so obvious they will.
I really am struggling to see the point of residing in this or any other Western European country anymore.
Waste money on everything else, so cut the armed forces and tax the motorist to claw the money back.
Whatever happened to the enjoyment of driving and the freedom it gave? There are families up and down this country already that no longer have days out to the seaside etc because they can't afford the fuel.
I can't believe for one second that this system would be cheaper. It can be classed as fairer (to get it through) but it will cost more to everyone in the longterm.
Who's going to pay for all the unregistered (no tax and no insurance) cars being driven through the tolls? who's going to pay for the cars which have just been sold, but the V5 hasn't been posted? Who's going to pay for the cloned registration plate cars and all the letters and legals that will be needed to prove it wasn't the real vehicle?
Oh yes, it'll be us, the law abiding, tax paying public.
Damn.
The impactless charging is fantastic. The queues (both clockwise and anticlockwise) even at non-peak times can be terrible, so this will be a great help.
However, I too remember the "it will be free once it's paid for" - all the way back in 1991. In fact, I rememebr my dad driving over the QEII bridge even before it was open (late at night they wanted to work on the tunnel).
It will never, ever be free as it's not owned by us any more. A French company, no less.
So yes, that the technology will be as such is good - and will work very well and conveniently. But it should be far less cost, and I'm sure I'll get a ticket when someone uses my number plate, just like they did in the congestion charge zone.
fking thieving spying s.
B. No you won't.
hth
Surely the best option for foriegn registered cars is to have a pay booth at each UK exit port.
Driver pulls up, number plate is read and is told by customs officer what he pays in toll fees. No fines, just fees.
No point in fining somebody for not paying a bill they were unaware or unable to pay.
This also assumes (IIRC) that paying the bill online on a daily basis is easier than paying at a toll booth. Unless it is automated like the London CC it will be an even bigger headache.
And number plate cloning willl be a much bigger issue that it is today. With a fine of £30 as a deterrent against a weekly commutr paying £100 per month in fees at todays money it is a no brainer.
We've had this stuff on a few major roads for a while. Many regular users have a transponder, which is supposed to register when you enter a toll area, & pay the toll automatically.
It works about 80% of the time. A computer is supposed to register if you are photographed, despite having the transponder, & correct mistakes. It doesn't. At least once every couple one of three of us is on the phone chasing double charges, or fines for not paying, despite having paid automatically.
This is of course just the practice system for passage speed measurement & fines.
We must understand your government needs these fines, for the income to enable it to help you. One would think you almost believe you could do without their kind of help.
Rolling it out across the UK is interesting as well. Taxing fuel is by far the most efficient system of road taxation but it is a political hot potato and Govt cannot keep increasing it as they have been doing so in real terms that income is falling an will continue to do so.
At the same time VED is also falling due to Eco incentives for lower CO2 cars.
Such a taxing system will almost certainly have tiers based on the bunny killing ability of cars. Will it also have exclusions for EVs or classic cars? Doubtfull.
Crime? Well, there is an arguement that the information can be used to catch uninsured or untaxed cars.
However, it will cause criminals and low rent punters to plough through unsuitable roads to swerve the system.
If fuel tax remained fixed. If VED was reduced and standardised. Then paying for journeys would be ok. However, we know that this will be an additional tax not a replacement and that it will fall heavily on the shoulders of road users.
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