SPY IN THE SKY...
Monday, August 18, 2008 at 11:56AM The war on the British motorist continues. Motorists are now being warned they may face "pay as you drive" road taxes as ministers launch the first ever trials of a scheme that could see them charged for every mile they drive. This will be driven by a satellite tracking a vehicle's movements. Motorists will then receive a monthly or weekly bill which will vary depending on when and where they drove.
Eight areas of the country have been selected by ministers for secret pay-per-mile trials which will begin in 2010 and are expected to pave the way for tolls on motorways. Motorists face paying up to £1.30 a mile during peak periods on the busiest roads. Gordon Brown was thought to be against national road pricing, a flagship policy of the Blair administration. But the detailed level of planning now underway indicates the issue it set to become a key battleground in the next general election – which is likely to coincide with the trials beginning.
I bet. Labour just wants to punish those of us who have the temerity to drive in our own vehicles. It hates the freedom of movement and independence of thought that this provides us with and that is why this scheme to tax us for each mile we drive - on top of all the other taxes we pay - is given such prominence in their agenda of envy and hatred.
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Reader Comments (5)
Just another nail in Labour's coffin. Knowing full well the British people will give them the hiding of a lifetime come 2010, they are spitefully punishing the people by fleecing them of yet more money.
An incoming Conservative government will scrap the policy, just as BoJo scrapped the £25 charge proposed by Livingstone.
Andrew McCain: "An incoming Conservative government will scrap the policy, .."
Bet you a pound to a penny they do no such thing! This road charging policy is European Union inspired (how else are they to pay for the galileo satalite constellation? 4.3billion Euros according to wiki).
Before you can say 'rip off' it will be illegal to use the US GPS system.
Couple this policy with the punitive taxes on old vehicles, and you can see the plan comming together. They force all old cars off the road, Consumers are then compelled to buy new cars with the European satalite tracking technology onboard as standard and presto, boiled frog.
APL may be right about this one. If the tax is in place before the Conservatives take office, they'll likely keep it, unless it's one of those cornerstone campaign issues.
There's a lot of little taxes (that add up quickly) here in the US that GWB and the formerly Republican congress could have axed, if they'd wanted to. One would be Al Gore's "Internet for Schools" tax on phone bills.
I can see a nice black market for devices which block the monitoring systems. Of course, the UK, with its TV license monitoring vans, would probably have a way to detect if the system were being spoofed.
Talk about ludicrous government road schemes check out the "new" barrier free toll payment plan on the M-50 around Dublin.
As of 30 August there will be NO human toll collectors. But there will be 8-different ways to pay the toll. And depending on how you pay determines the actual amount of the toll.
It's too convoluted for me to explain on the comment page, but if you want a good laugh check out thie official NRA (National Road Authority) web site: http://www.comparetag.ie
Sorry I got the website wrong on the previous post. It should read: http://www.tagcompare.ie