'Spy in the sky' trials begin within weeks......
Discussion
Though, fortunately not here (yet)
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/03/ndrive03.xml
'Spy in the sky' keeps watch on speeding drivers
By David Millward, Transport Correspondent, in Abu Dhabi
(Filed: 03/04/2006)
Technology which could be the basis of a British pay-as-you-drive road-pricing scheme is about to be used to issue instant speeding tickets in parts of the Middle East.
Work on setting up the world's biggest "spy in the sky" network for tracking cars will begin within weeks, with around 10,000 black boxes to be fitted in vehicles in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
It is anticipated that 700,000 cars will be equipped with black boxes within three years.
Whitehall is understood to be monitoring the experiment in the United Arab Emirates.
"Technology is developing all the time. What makes this particularly interesting is the scale on which they are prepared to work," said a Whitehall source.
"The fact that they are ready to put this into several hundred thousand cars will help us make a judgment on whether satellite-based road pricing is really viable."
However the use of the technology to crack down on speeding would prove more controversial, even though experts such as the RAC Foundation doubt the Government would risk the unpopularity of introducing it here.
The boxes will make speed cameras redundant. With 21.6 road accident deaths per 100,000 population, the emirates' authorities are desperate to slow traffic down. Even speed cameras have proved ineffective with drivers often driving at more than 100mph. The technology can not only tell where cars are, but how fast they are travelling.
Motorists flouting the country's speed limit will first get a warning, perhaps through
the car radio or on the satellite navigation screen. If this is ignored, they can expect an automatic speeding ticket.
The authorities, which will receive a constant flow of data at a control centre, will be able to govern exactly when the errant motorist receives a ticket by setting a "tolerance level" - a margin for error above the speed limit.
The boxes - which preliminary estimates suggest could cost between £100 and £400 - could be installed when a car applies to have its annual licence renewed. Fitting the boxes - which will be about six by five inches - should take no longer than half an hour.
The medium term goal is road-pricing, but the ability to track the movement of cars has other uses.
There has been an approach from Saudi Arabia which wants to adapt the technology to prevent a repetition of the lorry bomb attacks on western compounds.
This will be done by tracking vehicle movements and using spy satellites to establish "secure zones" within
the country. The black boxes will also be used to track
convoys passing through "sensitive" parts of the Middle East.
The work in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is a co-operative project between IBM and the United Arab Emirates' government- backed high tech company CERT.
It comes as the EU presses ahead with "Project Veronica", a scheme looking at the widespread introduction of black boxes to help police piece together events leading up to an accident.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/03/ndrive03.xml
'Spy in the sky' keeps watch on speeding drivers
By David Millward, Transport Correspondent, in Abu Dhabi
(Filed: 03/04/2006)
Technology which could be the basis of a British pay-as-you-drive road-pricing scheme is about to be used to issue instant speeding tickets in parts of the Middle East.
Work on setting up the world's biggest "spy in the sky" network for tracking cars will begin within weeks, with around 10,000 black boxes to be fitted in vehicles in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
It is anticipated that 700,000 cars will be equipped with black boxes within three years.
Whitehall is understood to be monitoring the experiment in the United Arab Emirates.
"Technology is developing all the time. What makes this particularly interesting is the scale on which they are prepared to work," said a Whitehall source.
"The fact that they are ready to put this into several hundred thousand cars will help us make a judgment on whether satellite-based road pricing is really viable."
However the use of the technology to crack down on speeding would prove more controversial, even though experts such as the RAC Foundation doubt the Government would risk the unpopularity of introducing it here.
The boxes will make speed cameras redundant. With 21.6 road accident deaths per 100,000 population, the emirates' authorities are desperate to slow traffic down. Even speed cameras have proved ineffective with drivers often driving at more than 100mph. The technology can not only tell where cars are, but how fast they are travelling.
Motorists flouting the country's speed limit will first get a warning, perhaps through
the car radio or on the satellite navigation screen. If this is ignored, they can expect an automatic speeding ticket.
The authorities, which will receive a constant flow of data at a control centre, will be able to govern exactly when the errant motorist receives a ticket by setting a "tolerance level" - a margin for error above the speed limit.
The boxes - which preliminary estimates suggest could cost between £100 and £400 - could be installed when a car applies to have its annual licence renewed. Fitting the boxes - which will be about six by five inches - should take no longer than half an hour.
The medium term goal is road-pricing, but the ability to track the movement of cars has other uses.
There has been an approach from Saudi Arabia which wants to adapt the technology to prevent a repetition of the lorry bomb attacks on western compounds.
This will be done by tracking vehicle movements and using spy satellites to establish "secure zones" within
the country. The black boxes will also be used to track
convoys passing through "sensitive" parts of the Middle East.
The work in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is a co-operative project between IBM and the United Arab Emirates' government- backed high tech company CERT.
It comes as the EU presses ahead with "Project Veronica", a scheme looking at the widespread introduction of black boxes to help police piece together events leading up to an accident.
'However the use of the technology to crack down on speeding would prove more controversial, even though experts such as the RAC Foundation doubt the Government would risk the unpopularity of introducing it here.'
To that, read between the lines and it says, this isnt a stealth tax and will be highly visible and definately damage the chances of Labour being re-elected so not on your nelly!!!
To that, read between the lines and it says, this isnt a stealth tax and will be highly visible and definately damage the chances of Labour being re-elected so not on your nelly!!!
Up here in space
I’m looking down on you
My lasers trace
Everything you do
You think you’ve private lives
Think nothing of the kind
There is no true escape
I’m watching all the time
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Always in focus
You can’t feel my stare
I zoom into you
You don’t know I’m there
I take a pride in probing all your secret moves
My tearless retina takes pictures that can prove
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Electric eye, in the sky
Feel my stare, always there
There’s nothing you can do about it
Develop and expose
I feed upon your every thought
And so my power grows
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Protected. detective. electric eye
I’m looking down on you
My lasers trace
Everything you do
You think you’ve private lives
Think nothing of the kind
There is no true escape
I’m watching all the time
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Always in focus
You can’t feel my stare
I zoom into you
You don’t know I’m there
I take a pride in probing all your secret moves
My tearless retina takes pictures that can prove
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Electric eye, in the sky
Feel my stare, always there
There’s nothing you can do about it
Develop and expose
I feed upon your every thought
And so my power grows
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Protected. detective. electric eye
justinp1 said:
To that, read between the lines and it says, this isnt a stealth tax and will be highly visible and definately damage the chances of Labour being re-elected so not on your nelly!!!
at present they seem to be doing a good enough job of damaging thier chances of been re elected without introducing any more unpopular plans, hopefully they wont get re elected and i cant see the Tories backing this sort of scheme.
justinp1 said:They'll probably put it in the manifesto as being optional and then make everyone who buys road tax have one.
'However the use of the technology to crack down on speeding would prove more controversial, even though experts such as the RAC Foundation doubt the Government would risk the unpopularity of introducing it here.'
To that, read between the lines and it says, this isnt a stealth tax and will be highly visible and definately damage the chances of Labour being re-elected so not on your nelly!!!
How's your project? wolves_wanderer said:
'However the use of the technology to crack down on speeding would prove more controversial, even though experts such as the RAC Foundation doubt the Government would risk the unpopularity of introducing it here.'
To that, read between the lines and it says, this isnt a stealth tax and will be highly visible and definately damage the chances of Labour being re-elected so not on your nelly!!!
As I've said before, this will be the point where I am prepared to drive illegally. I will not have a black box in my car. End of.
Perhaps if this finally becomes law and they spend millions of our cash on getting us all to install a black box in our cars and accidents still happen they might realise that most accidents happen within the speed limits. It's an expensive way for them and us to find out but maybe they'll finally cotton on. Alternatively they could do a tiny bit of research and perhaps look at the cause of most accidents.
groomi said:
As I've said before, this will be the point where I am prepared to drive illegally. I will not have a black box in my car. End of.
Do you really think that if this is introduced, the offence won't have a power of seizure for non compliance written into it ?
Undoubetdly it would & you'd lose the car.
>> Edited by vonhosen on Tuesday 4th April 16:42
JoolzB said:In an ideal world that would happen. However, the fact that accidents still occur within the speed limit can only mean the speed limits are too high and must be reduced for our own safety before any more children are killed.
Perhaps if this finally becomes law and they spend millions of our cash on getting us all to install a black box in our cars and accidents still happen they might realise that most accidents happen within the speed limits. It's an expensive way for them and us to find out but maybe they'll finally cotton on. Alternatively they could do a tiny bit of research and perhaps look at the cause of most accidents.
wolves_wanderer said:
Perhaps if this finally becomes law and they spend millions of our cash on getting us all to install a black box in our cars and accidents still happen they might realise that most accidents happen within the speed limits. It's an expensive way for them and us to find out but maybe they'll finally cotton on. Alternatively they could do a tiny bit of research and perhaps look at the cause of most accidents.
Oh yeah I didn't think about that. We'd get to the stage where 0mph limits were the only acceptable option.
justinp1 said:
'However the use of the technology to crack down on speeding would prove more controversial, even though experts such as the RAC Foundation doubt the Government would risk the unpopularity of introducing it here.'
To that, read between the lines and it says, this isnt a stealth tax and will be highly visible and definately damage the chances of Labour being re-elected so not on your nelly!!!
Best argument for it so far. Anything to get those f****** out.
wolves_wanderer said:
'However the use of the technology to crack down on speeding would prove more controversial, even though experts such as the RAC Foundation doubt the Government would risk the unpopularity of introducing it here.'
To that, read between the lines and it says, this isnt a stealth tax and will be highly visible and definately damage the chances of Labour being re-elected so not on your nelly!!!
Yes, the Labour version of democracy in action.
vonhosen said:
As I've said before, this will be the point where I am prepared to drive illegally. I will not have a black box in my car. End of.
Do you really think that if this is introduced, the offence won't have a power of seizure for non compliance written into it ?
Undoubetdly it would & you'd lose the car.
>> Edited by vonhosen on Tuesday 4th April 16:42
So I'd do what all the other pro-active members of our society do and nick another car.
If it is a criminal offence not to allow them to spy on me like this, then I will have to live like a criminal...
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff