Gatso mk 2

[G4Z]

I was browsing El Reg at work today as is usual when I cam across this story :

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11...ment_database/

Now after reading that I must say the whole idea has me very worried, not only will the whole thing be extraordinarily invasive to privacy but i simply object to the idea that this issue requires priority and resources when we have all these other problems that we (allegedly) face in the UK, for example terrorism. This to me is a move to impose control over the population as well as turn our roads into one giant cash machine for the govt.

I dont see how I will be able to hold on to my my license with this in place ( I only have 3 points on it for now thanks to the mobile speed camera, but 3 more speeding offences and its gone) as it takes 5 years IIRC for points to be removed from your license.

This also had me worried "The control centre is intended to go live in April of next year, and is intended to be processing 50 million number plates a day by year end. ACPO national ANPR co-ordinator John Dean told the Sunday Times that fixed ANPR cameras already exist "at strategic points" on every motorway in the UK, and that the intention was to have "good nationwide coverage within the next 12 months.""

12 months? how fast? amazing that the govt can get a system like this in within 12 months yet still havent sorted out the inland revenue or child support agency, I can only hope that this goes tits up, imho anybody working on this project has a right to society to screw it up so badly its never even contemplated again.

What do you guys think about this?

Is it needed?

Will it achive the desired effect (safer roads, you would think...)?

combined with the DVLA and NIR database will this be a threat to privacy?

Where will it all end?

[Big RICHARD]

Points stay for four years. Insurance companies expect you to declare them for five.

[dave87]

Erm, can I just say it is tantamount to spying on us - a breach of civil liberties. They will be able to use that system through its numberplate recognition software to tell them exactly where people are and when. It also takes the average speed cameras further, measuring your journey time and working out your average speed. If >70mph = 3 points. Nice.... No need for GPS based trackers anymore....and how long before the focus is taken off of organised criminals and onto Joe Public in a revenue creation system?

[herulach]

Since if they wanted to they can already check your progress along motorways anyway (its pretty hard to go a junction without seeing at least 1 camera) then i dont see that it makes a great deal of difference. Dont speed, dont caught simple as. Sure they could track peoples journeys and keep a log, but if they want to process 50 million plates a day, theyre gonna need some ridiculously big iron to store it all on. And like i said, they can already track people, so thats no biggie. And if it stops idiots with 316s thinking they can cane along at 90 in a 40 then just slow down for cameras then im all for it.

[Nemeliza]

Well seeing as they are going to be slapping all this technology into the roads then they might as well use them as beacons and slap together a navigation system that will drive my car there for me (AT THE SPEED LIMIT OF COURSE).

I only passed my driving test this year but something i learned very quickly is that driving is a huge expense, everything you do related to driving incurs some sort of penalty.

Is it really worth it....

[Rave]

Looks like I'll be cycling a lot more and buying train tickets with cash.

[TeePee]

Looks like I'll be cycling a lot more and buying train tickets with cash.

Just don't wear a backpack...

[Grey M@a]

Since when were points on your licence for 4 years? I have three points 26th october 2003 I got them 26th October 2006 I can pay for them to be removed. Its 3 years on your licence and 4 with the insurance companies, unless you are lucky and got the points a day before your insurance renewal.

[G4Z]

Grey, in all honesty I think its yet another revenue stream to basicly get people to clock up points on thier license and then get them to pay again to take them off.

I may as well set up a direct debit for speeding once this goes live.

How much is it to get them taken off anyway?

[Taz]

Will these new gatso's catch people like the school-run-mum I encountered this morning? She had a fag in one hand, was texting someone on here mobile phone with the other hand and screaming at her kids while doing 70+ MPH on the 50MPH section of the A40 near the Target Roundabout.

She also had a 'Baby On Board' sticker in the back window. Oh, the irony...

[Grey M@a]

Grey, in all honesty I think its yet another revenue stream to basicly get people to clock up points on thier license and then get them to pay again to take them off.

I may as well set up a direct debit for speeding once this goes live.

How much is it to get them taken off anyway?

From what I remember its something like £18 per three points but speaking to a mates Dad who works for the coppers he said it could be £12 a point :/ I will have to double check on that as its only another 11 months and I can take my points off.

[5lab]

i think its good..

there was another news story this week suggesting that speeding on motorways puts out somethign like 1m tonnes of co2 per year more than sticking to the limit would. so this would probably help the environment some.. also, it will help stop cars being stolen, driven uninsured, speeding, driven un-mot'd.. the list goes on.. i personally dont really see what the problem is, if you dont want to get caught, dont speed. if you find that hard, buy a less powerful car.

[Swafe]

i think its good..

there was another news story this week suggesting that speeding on motorways puts out somethign like 1m tonnes of co2 per year more than sticking to the limit would. so this would probably help the environment some.. also, it will help stop cars being stolen, driven uninsured, speeding, driven un-mot'd.. the list goes on.. i personally dont really see what the problem is, if you dont want to get caught, dont speed. if you find that hard, buy a less powerful car.

From what I remember from my environmental classes, we roughly put out 330M Tons of CO2 a year, sure a million tons of gas seems like a massive amount, but on the scale of things its less than a 0.3% saving overall, so it wont make a difference hardly at all, and the price we pay is going to be hundreds of millions of pounds to the government in fines and losing our privacy, I know what I'd prefer, them not spending the money they'd spend on cameras (every 1/4 mile? isnt that a bit over kill for every stretch of motorway in the UK) on something much better for the environment, something like wind power or whatever would be more beneficial as it would save coal power stations pumping out obscenely more than 1 million tons of CO2 a year.

[TeePee]

Yes, there should be speed limits becasue it helps the environment.

[Butuz]

and how long before the focus is taken off of organised criminals and onto Joe Public in a revenue creation system?

Already has mate. Which is exactly why theyre spending so much time thinking of ideas such as the above to move it further on.

Butuz

[5lab]

Yes, there should be speed limits becasue it helps the environment.

whats so silly about that? we already have lots of devices on cars to help the environment, and it will genuinely help the environment a lot if we drove at ~55mph on motorways, rather than 90. i'm not saying we should do that, but it is actually a viable argument..

http://www.whatcar.com/News_Article....=217619&EL_ID=

why does it matter if it is used as a revenue maker anyway? i mean, the money just gets spent on us, the population, in the end anyways, so stop yer winging