UK Road Charging

PostPost by: bcmc33 » Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:55 am

Sarah Kennedy was talking about this proposed car tax scheme on Radio 2.
Apparently there is only 8 days remaining to register your objection to the 'Pay As You Go' road tax.

The petition is on the 10 Downing St website but they didn't tell anybody about it. Therefore at the time of Sarah's comments only 250,000 people had signed it and 750,000 signatures are required for the government to at least take any notice.

Once you've given your details (you don't have to give your full address, just house number and postcode will do), they will send you an email with a link in it. Once you click on that link, you'll have signed the petition.

The government's proposal to introduce road pricing will mean you having to purchase a tracking device for your car and paying a monthly bill to use it. The tracking device will cost about ?200 and in a recent study by the BBC, the lowest monthly bill was ?28 for a rural florist and ?194 for a delivery driver. A non working mother who used the car to take the kids to school paid ?86 in one month.

On top of this massive increase in tax, you will be tracked. Somebody will know where you are at all times. They will also know how fast you have been going, so even if you accidentally creep over a speed limit in time you can probably expect a Notice of Intended Prosecution with your monthly bill.

If you are concerned about this Orwellian plan and want to stop the constant bashing of the car driver, please sign the petition on No 10's new website (link below) and pass this on to as many people as possible. Sign up if you value your freedom and democratic rights -

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax Open until 20 February 2007

If the site is busy - keep trying, unless of course, you're one of the people that is looking forward to being charged even more to drive on our roads.


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PostPost by: Emma-Knight » Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:36 pm

:shock: and I thought, just German authorities are bananas :shock:
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PostPost by: chrishewett » Mon Feb 12, 2007 6:16 pm

Over a million have now signed and the government are not happy at being forced to even admit what they are planning let alone consult the electorate.
Their plans don't stop there, all new cars will be fitted with electronic number plates and tax discs will contain a microchip. How long before we all have one implanted in our heads?
On another note, speed cameras have appeared on the approach to the blackwall tunnel. There are no warning signs and the cameras are hidden. They can get away with this as no endorsments will be issued, instead the fine has been increased to ?100. The speed limit has just been reduced. How about that for a money making scheme?
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PostPost by: Si_130/5 » Thu Feb 15, 2007 6:03 pm

I agree, I feel this place is already over regulated and logging our movements and speed is the final intrusion on our liberty.
The proliferation of speed cameras. bumps and an expanding congestion charge zone simply fill the mismanaged state coffers under a pretence of concern for the environment and this new scheme will do the same. Will it really stop people using their cars?
Let's all sign this petition and register our feelings.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

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PostPost by: GrUmPyBoDgEr » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:38 am

I noticed your comment Emma!

I went to live in Munich towards the end of the 70's when Britain, apart from Maggie Thatcher's brutal reforms, was a pretty free & easy place to live.
Germany came as a bit of a shock with all of the rules you had to live by, especially things like having to get written TUV permission to fit things like leather rimmed steering wheels or wider tyres to your car.
It seemed like you needed a licence to sneeze
Recently I have been working back in the UK & have been shocked at the changes here (in my country).
With road charging the government is tryimg to persuade people to reduce the use of cars but unlike other european countries have very little to offer in the way of alternative transport.
The railways here seem to have been run into the ground & most forms of public transport have been privatised & subsidised by the tax payer, even more than when they were nationalised.
I feel sure that any money earned by road charging will get squandered rather than going into improving the situation.
GB is now in a situation where it has to buy natural gas from europe & will have to resort to more nuclear reactors to generate electricity.
It seems that in the past 30 years where they have had cheap North Sea oil & gas that none of the massive profits have been invested into providing renewable sources of energy. Oh could I go on :(
Sorry to everybody for my rant but I know that I'me not alone when I ask myself where will all of this end :?
Now then, do I apply to the DVLA for my sneezing licence? :lol:
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Editor: On Sunday morning, February 8th 2015, Derek "John" Pelly AKA GrumpyBodger passed away genuinely peacefully at Weston Hospicecare, Weston Super Mare. He will be missed.
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PostPost by: Elanintheforest » Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:16 pm

I think that you'll find sneezing will become the subjuct of an ASBO before too long...and it's about time too.

Now come on guys, take a cursory look at the internet...Road Pricing is coming to the world...GET USED TO IT.

http://www.primidi.com/2003/09/10.html

http://www.erf.be/images/giroads/Heinz%20Hilbrecht.pdf

http://www.industry.siemens.com/broschu ... ckfrei.pdf

Running a car has never been cheaper than it is now, in any country, and traffic is growing at 2% per year throughout the Western world, a darned sight more in China and India. Something has to give.

Car tax and petrol tax is a very blunt instument for paying for an increasingly rare commodity...the road. Particularly at certain times of the day, in certain areas. A Pay-as-you-go, where and when you go system is a lot more fair that just keep increasing tax on petrol.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the cost of motoring rise by several hundred percent over the next 10 to 20 years...the second 'golden age' of motoring is in its winter years, I fear. But the same goes for air and sea travel.

I do agree with you, John, that decent public transport systems must be put in place that can act as a replacement for the commute and school run, which would take a huge amount of traffic off the road. But I'll stick to the car for my commute from Ross-On-Wye to Bracknell...I worked out that it would take 4.5 hours on public transport each way...sounds like a days work to me :shock:

And nobody has mentioned health and safety yet??!!
Mark
Last edited by Elanintheforest on Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPost by: Fubar » Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:28 pm

Elanintheforest wrote:Running a car has never been cheaper than it is now, in any country, and traffic is growing at 2% throughout the Western world, a darned sight more in China and India. Something has to give.


You've hit the nail on the head there, and it puts references to "the constant bashing of the car driver" into perspective.

Very funny article in the Times last week by the way that suggested that the motivation of the 'road lobby' is largely about the freedom of the middle classes to drive big cars exactly how they like, and b?@*^&$s to everyone else!

Made me laugh anyway..
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