a piece of last weeks news that seems to have slipped by without much attention.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4610755.stm
either that or i slept through most of the week, which is a possibility.
i really don't like all this big brother s**t that's happening. national id cards etc. before you know it, you'll be getting your own personal tracker implanted in the back of your neck, whether you want it or not.
If you think about it, it's really the fairest idea to charge people by the mile. However, the government, as ever, has shown tremendous stupidity in the details: they should have variable costs for the type of car you use (so that freight and economic cars are cheaper) and keep main commuter and rural routes cheap. Right now the proposals are to flat charge but vary some routes, with stupidly high amounts for certain motorways (up to ?1.40/$1 mile?!) which really just penalises people who have to drive further, such as those in the country or where there is inadequate public transport.
The sad thing is, there are just to many people to stupid to be allowed to make their own choices.
I know thats an unpopular view but its oh so true. I see people doing the stupidest things every day just driving, I can only imagine what else they are doing.
Someday, I will make a list of things that stupid people do.. ( a list is pretty stupid in itself so I will add it as well)
Bottomline, todays society breeds people so into themselves that its as if no one else even enters their little worlds.. Those are the people who need someone to "big brother" them.. Look around you, but start at the top. Its usually the people with the money. THOSE are the really stupid ones.
I drive a lot.. I see countryside that has had crops in them before yet are going fallow now.
I see no reason what so ever why these fields cannot contain a fuel crop of one type or another. I talk to people all the time who are also confused on these points. One side claims that if we produce more crops, the price will drop, the other claims that if the crop is used for fuel, and not food, then the price will remain constant or even rise.
I think we need to educate people on this topic, then push the fuel crop idea till it takes hold.
millions of acres go unplanted each year.. Its bad enough that we have hunger present in the name of higher prices, why do we have to add fuel shortages as well " SRC="images/smiles/sad.gif">
Petrol prices are already obscenely high in the UK, compared to other large Western oil consumers. Raising the price without relation to the price of crude oil would just trigger another blockage and ensuing shortage we saw back in the late 90s/early 00's. I can't remember when it was but it was madness.
I see also the reports of the US Government and Exxon editing scientific reports on climate change have been muffled by most. Strange.
Petrol prices are already obscenely high in the UK, compared to other large Western oil consumers. Raising the price without relation to the price of crude oil would just trigger another blockage and ensuing shortage we saw back in the late 90s/early 00's. I can't remember when it was but it was madness.
I see also the reports of the US Government and Exxon editing scientific reports on climate change have been muffled by most. Strange.
What do you mean by blockage...? did OPEC stop exporting to you or something?
Hardly, since your car type is linked into your vehicle registration & numberplate. If vehicles were classified in different bands, it's simply a case of saying "this person has driven X miles, with a class Y car, so they need to pay Z amount." It should be fairly easy to manage with computer systems, though the government has proved several times it's incompetence in this area (c.f. NHS computer systems, PFI, air traffic control, etc...) The hard part about enforcing it is installing the tracking equipment in cars in the first place and locating cars without it (though lots of hidden 'checkpoints' should be able to get round this effectively).
Again, I still think charging by the mileage you do is the fairest system. What do you do for taxis and freight and buses? You zone areas (city centres, motorways, rural roads, etc.) and class them in such a way that the people who have to use them pay the least. That way, it's fair!
There are very few (if any) toll roads in the states. Bridges, yes.
