travel tax

The idea that you dont want to be tracked is more sinister.

Ah but if like me you are forced to use a greedy vehicle for medical reasons then thats also wrong. And even if you just want one because you like them its still wrong. The amount of fuel a vehicle uses and gets taxed should be nothing to do with congestion. All that happens if you stick tax on fuel is people buy smaller engined cars. They still do the same trips! At least tracking means a blanket level of mileage charge even if you dont happen to be "poor" and drive a V8 SUV compared to a 950cc front drive grocery getter! Just because you have more money why would your charge for useing a specific road be greater!

If they charged me 4 quid a pint because I live in a big house they would get a punch on the nose! Adding a congestion charge to fuel is effectively the same thing. Fuel should be tax free (and about 30p a gallon) and charging should ALL be by the mile regardless of the size of your car/house/wallet. And you may gather that I see the "greenhouse gas" and polution tax as pretty damned pointless when you see what countries like chiuna are doing! I think its all just a good excuse to tax us more and nothing else. If we burned zero petrol in the UK this year the effect on the co2 output would barely be measurable against the noise.

Well that would be their choice wouldnt it. Why would I want to subsidise disfunctional families?

and

Well they should get better education/jobs etc if the insist on living apart from their families and wish to use the roads / drive a car.

Again why would someone that studied for years and got a decent job and who because of that can afford a bigger better car want to subsidise your poor dysfunctional family?

So you want the ones that worked harder that pay more tax on just about everything to improve the roads for those that pay less?

If you don't value your privacy and are 100% certain that this data cannot be abused by anyone, including the government that you appear to put so much unwarranted faith in, be my guest.

Just don't come back complaining when the News of the Screws buys your movement data and labels you a pediatrician.

I do not wish those who I do not tell, to know my everywhere abouts. I have nothing sinister to hide.

Remember if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear from the state just ask Jean Charles de Menezes.

I didnt say I wanted to be tracked. But We all already are. There are cameras and computers everywhere I cant see it making much difference. They can already read your number plates and track you over lots of the motorway networks and big cities. Just seems to me that those doing something wrong have much more to fear than those that are not.

Hefty price to pay for letting one's visa expire.

How do you know that you're not suspected of doing something wrong?

Tracking? Further to the cameras and number plate recognition, does anyone of this parish carry a mobile phone? Or use credit/debit cards?

All sorts of private sector people hold all sorts of information about where you are and all sorts of private and public sector people can almost certainly get their hands on it if they want to. Legitimately or otherwise.

I dont. There is some risk in everything. But those that are doing wrong have much more to worry about.

Its unpleasant but its colateral damage. I know, lets get rid of the police and army in case they get the wrong person. That will make the place safer dont you think?

Nothings perfect.

Those that are doing something wrong will not be tracked with their own identity though. They will be tracked by someone elses. And that someone else will have to prove their innocense. If the big sky eye says "James Smith" was spotted driving a vehicle in their name into the side of a bank and stealing the money from a cash machine, James Smith needs to prove it wasn't him. Even if Dave Jones was driving a vehicle he registered to James Smith previously.

But it isn't all collated in one place. It is all held seperatley, and not directly cross referenceable.

That is different. Keep it all in one BD and you can then instigate realtime tracking.

Why, does an illegal immigrant's opinion count for anything ?

No they wont because the onus is on the prosecutor to prove it was you. And since anyone can use or take anyone elses phone/card/vehicle that does not constitute proof.

If the big sky eye says "James

Nope. Its the other way around. It makes it easier if he can prove it wasnt him but the eye in the sky does not prove it was.

And just how many "Menezes" type incidents have there been in the last decade?

But improving roads doesn't reduce congestion. It simply increases the traffic by making it easier for people and goods to travel in the short term. Every time a new motorway is opened or widened it goes over the projected traffic levels quickly.

I'm not offering any answers, but few are willing to have their *own* locality disturbed by new roads. So we either accept ever increasing congestion or take steps to reduce traffic levels.

His certainly doesn't now.

Speeding tickets require you to prove your innocence. Why not other new offences, or new methods of "detecting" old 0ffences.

Remember, even good old "100% likely it was you" DNA evidence has been discredited, since a 14year old boy and someone dead for 30 years were suspects in a 20 years old case not so long ago.

Ask that next time you are carrying a table leg.