Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:21 am
Car Tracking Plates
Oh err..
Now my first instinct was that this is a great idea, it would mean reduction in the amount of uninsured drivers and those not taxing their cars/MOT'ing them.
It basically will keep the normal population who may stray (or blatantly) flout the odd law to tow the line, but as mentioned - it may also allow for some tracking of your whereabouts. Now I have always been sceptical in believing the worst about things - but after hearing that an 82 year old man was thrown out of a party conference for "heckling" Tony Blair... and then had his pass removed to bar him entry back in, on wait for it - ANTI TERRORISM LAWS , I now start to see why people were sceptical about the sweeping powers those laws gave to the governme......I mean police. They used a completely unfit law to do what they want, prevent him from returning - because they couldn't any other way.
Maybe it holds sway with regards to the concern people have over tracking number plates......that and the fact that pro crims will no doubt remove em.
Number plates that contain microchips enabling cars to be tracked on the roads are to be tested by the Government and could soon be in use in the UK.
The high-tech plates transmit information such as Vehicle Identification Numbers to data readers placed alongside roads, which can be picked up at any speed and up to 300 feet away.
Making use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, the tagged plate scheme is said to be a massive improvement over cameras that use character recognition and only have a 75 to 90 per cent accuracy rate.
The Department for Transport officially approved the microchipped plates last week and testing is expected to start towards the end of this year.
A DfT spokesman said that they want to see if the scheme would make number plates harder to clone or forge, in response to the growing trend of commuters in the London congestion charge zone using fake plates to avoid paying the charge or subsequent fines.
Forged plates are also frequently used by organised criminals when commiting robberies in order to avoid being traced.
Already in use in San Francisco to collect road tolls, the use of this new technology is being closely watched by police forces in the US, which are interested in the possiblities of using it to track uninsured drivers, car thieves or even to foil terrorists using their roadways.
However, civil liberty groups are typically wary, warning that such RFID systems could easily become a "back door surveillance tool".
Now my first instinct was that this is a great idea, it would mean reduction in the amount of uninsured drivers and those not taxing their cars/MOT'ing them.
It basically will keep the normal population who may stray (or blatantly) flout the odd law to tow the line, but as mentioned - it may also allow for some tracking of your whereabouts. Now I have always been sceptical in believing the worst about things - but after hearing that an 82 year old man was thrown out of a party conference for "heckling" Tony Blair... and then had his pass removed to bar him entry back in, on wait for it - ANTI TERRORISM LAWS , I now start to see why people were sceptical about the sweeping powers those laws gave to the governme......I mean police. They used a completely unfit law to do what they want, prevent him from returning - because they couldn't any other way.
Maybe it holds sway with regards to the concern people have over tracking number plates......that and the fact that pro crims will no doubt remove em.
