Monday 16th November 2009

Dutch Sign Up For 'Spy In The Sky' Tolls

Motorists to be tracked via satellites after 2012

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The Dutch government has announced that its motorists will be charged .03 of a euro for every kilometre they drive after 2012 - with a built-in tax escalator increasing the tariff every year until 2018.

What price progress..?

Although the Dutch have taken an early lead on satellite tolling, it is widely accepted in the European Commission that road pricing will provide the revenues to pay for its multi-billion-euro project to launch the GALILEO satellite network, so the pressure will surely be intense for other European nations to follow suit. Yep, so that means us then.

In official 'EC speak', VERT, (or the Vehicular Remote Tolling project) is: 'an EC sponsored commercial consortium designed to exploit the capabilities offered by EGNOS, and later on GALILEO, to create road tolling-related applications that are sustainable from the economic and social point of view, either for enhancing the Road Tolling services or for introducing new added value services,' etc. etc. etc.

Suffice to say the VERT consortium has been working out the systems for some years, in readiness for when the troubled Galileo project goes live (apparently) in 2013.

Here at PH, we are looking forward to getting our chance to vote on the subject of enforced satellite tracking and tolling when it inevitably arrives back on the agenda in the UK.

Eh? What do you mean, we won't get a vote...

(N.B. The author is a member of Curmudgeonly Eurosceptics Anonymous)

[Police State]

Another brick in my wall...

[Dr S]

Should this not have arrived in 1984 already?

[CommanderJameson]

>guh<

>disbelief that the Dutch could be so catastrophically stupid<

>wonders if this will finally be the thing that gets him a criminal record<

[louismchuge]

uh oh

[Dan1heMan]

Think it's about time i stock up on some of these...

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8758

[shotokan]

thoroughly depressing turn of events...

[leon9191]

CommanderJameson said:

>guh<

>disbelief that the Dutch could be so catastrophically stupid<

>wonders if this will finally be the thing that gets him a criminal record<

Where do you think speed cameras are from?

[TVRWannabee]

Yes, this will really help the cause of the EU in Britain, following on from the recent referendum debate.

The EU seem intent on following the UK government and committing ritual suicide - or maybe they are just arrogant?

Good grief.

[CommanderJameson]

TVRWannabee said:

Yes, this will really help the cause of the EU in Britain, following on from the recent referendum debate.

The EU seem intent on following the UK government and committing ritual suicide - or maybe they are just arrogant?

Good grief.

>fingers crossed<

I'd never vote UKIP in a month of Sundays, but I'm certainly of the opinion that for the UK, it's time to end the EU experiment.

[T89 Callan]

s.

I bet UKIP are rubbing their hands with delight.

[PhantomPH]

As long as it comes with reduction in road tax and fuel tax, I don't care.

I know some very, very clever people who will be able to make it look like I never leave my house....

[p_nut]

Is it just me, but I thought that we already had a charge per mile travelled, with a built-in system of rewarding drivers of smaller engined cars?

Isn't the tax we pay in petrol a much simpler, cheaper way of dealing with road charging...

Wait a minute, I have just realised that fuel tax doesn't provide maximum speed details and exact point-to-point journey tracking.

Will we have our own cars incriminating us when we accidentally drift over the posted, and obviously appropriately specified, speed limit?

How about getting the car then telling the authorities when we forget to indicate just once, or not parking exactly in the parking bay? Maybe it could monitor our heart rate just in case we enjoy driving too much, and report that too.

We could just get a monthly bill for all misdemeanours in one easy payment payable by direct debit.

Love it.

Edited by p_nut on Monday 16th November 14:37

[White Lightning]

This is tragic news. This will turn just about every single motorist in the country into a criminal. Show me a driver who says he/she NEVER breaks the speed limit and ill show you a liar!!

[J B L]

What about bikes though? Will the Dutch have these on motorcycles too?

[kaiowas]

Dr S said:

Should this not have arrived in 1984 already?

Well that was the idea but as with all government projects it's running late and over budget.

[beefbeef]

How utterly ridiculous. Does this mean that people like me who are in low paid jobs and who have to drive a long way to work won't be able to drive? A big fk you and two fingers to the person who agrees this disgusting scheme to go ahead. Probably Gordon Brown.

[rockystarr]

I wonder if the satellite can pick up the v sign on my car roof..

[andy_s]

Don't worry about being fined for speeding, they'll probably introduce GPS tracked speed limits into your ECU by then.
Then charge you for the technology. And to make up for the lost revenue.

[B Oeuf]

beefbeef said:

How utterly ridiculous. Does this mean that people like me who are in low paid jobs and who have to drive a long way to work won't be able to drive? A big fk you and two fingers to the person who agrees this disgusting scheme to go ahead. Probably Gordon Brown.

in Holland?!!

[beefbeef]

B Oeuf said:

beefbeef said:

How utterly ridiculous. Does this mean that people like me who are in low paid jobs and who have to drive a long way to work won't be able to drive? A big fk you and two fingers to the person who agrees this disgusting scheme to go ahead. Probably Gordon Brown.

in Holland?!!

When it comes to the UK, which it blatently will do! Sorry, should have said.