Except it isn't in the news - government is trying to bury this

[Freckle]

Was sent the email copied below. If you care about freedom and want to avoid more Big Brother heavy-handedness from this government, sign the petition.

Apparently there is only one month left 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 this time only 250,000 people had
signed it so far and 750,000 signatures are required to stop them
introducing it.

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.

Democracy in action?
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 care about our freedom and stopping 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.

petition
Hope you don't mind me sending it

My point exactly, Aloha. This government might suggest it is for the general good of the planet and the information will only be used to assess charges, but another government might choose to use the information for other purposes and, once the device is there and the systems exist to collate the information, there will be little any of us can do about it.

but surely this could have benefits as, in one's quest to not be "spied on" you might be less inclined to get in your car and more inclined to walk/use public transport? thus saving on emitions - job done.

And, for the record, I do not use my car much these days. We walk where possible or cycle. The charge for me would not be excessive based on my annual mileage. I agree with all that has been said about overuse of the car and the damage that it causes and I'm happy to wave my green credentials with the rest of you, but I do not think the proposed system is the way to go about it. Not when you consider what you could lose in the process.

We don't have a car but I still don't like this idea. By all means charge per mile but the tracking is unnecessary IMHO.

but what is it you think you're going to lose? really what do you think a government is going to impose on you by tracking the whereabouts of your car? remember they can only track it to wherever you park it - you're not going to be forced to wear a tracking device?

People make it sound like the mafia coming to get you - and I think you're being paranoid.

Another taxation on road users wooppee doo! We barely afford to put petrol in our car and use it very sparingly as a result, so i don't need to be told to watch how much i travel I'm already doing it thankyou very much, with this we probably won't be able to afford to drive anywhere fan feckin tastic. So as a poor person yes i do object to giving out so much feckin money in taxes all the time and yes whilst owning a car is a privilige it allows use to do things we couldn't ordinarily do, trips out etc. When this comes in, and i firmly believe its a when, we will be saying goodbye to all the picnics etc because we simply won't be able to afford it. So my kids will be stuck in more, eventually turn to drink and drugs to relieve the boredom and end up with asbos because we didn't have much chance of getting away from the crap that goes on all around us.

woops sorry went off on a tangent

I just don't believe the govt needs to know whether a driver has travelled for 5 miles to go to the gym and back or whether those 5 miles were spent driving to see friends/go to church/go to a mosque etc.

if you want to go out take the buss, the train, walk. I find it bizarre that someone would think their children are going to turn to drink and drugs because they cannot afford to drive a car!

The reason why pay per drive is necessary is because people use their cars when, in reality, there is no need. and every time you start up your car you are polluting the environment. As I understand it the pay per drive scheme is going to take the place of road tax so if you drive minimum mileage you will actually benefit and if you drive everywhere then you will pay more which is quite right IMO.

that last bit was tongue in cheek, i have a high horse spare if you want one

Not everywhere is accessible by public transport - and that's if the bus/train actually turns up in the first place.

yes I'll just take a bus to the local reservoir

If it replaces road tax then not a problem to me - I don't use my car unless absolutely necessary, and would relish the thought of paying less than someone who uses it unnecessarily ... and I'm not that bothered about them knowing where my car is - I carry a mobile phone everywhere with me, so am instantly trackable if anybody really wants to! Might actually help in stopping car crime!

However, the cynical part of me thicks it may well be an additional tax ... hmmm - a tricky one.

ejt

and i use buses alot, but they are very bloody expensive, and actually whilst thinking about it, a car does bring with it access to nice but simple things in life, these will be taken away from those less able to pay which actually could contribute to more social eveils by making the divide between rich and poor just that bit wider.

get a cab?

there are ways.

and the environamental benefit of me getting a cab is what exactly?

Taxis can be very expensive.

As I said, we have no car but the reality is that for a lot of people the current public transport system just isn't a viable alternative.

Will the money raised be put towards Green issues? I think not, it's just another of Brown's stealth taxes. Similar to the new tax on airplane flights. I wouldn't object to these IF they were used for research or similar into saving the environment.

I already pay to drive on the roads - I pay road tax, tax on petrol, tax on my insurance (I think, but while I'm ranting, why bother with actually checking ).

I am NOT in favour of the Government tracking ordinary citizens as Aloha says. The "if you have nothing to hide" stuff doesn't do it for me - I have nothing to hide, but it doesn't mean I want the Government to have full access to my knicker drawer, for instance.

How is getting a cab any more environmentally friendly than driving your own car ? Unless of course the taxi is a hybrid vhicle and your normal car is a stonking great Hummer ?

What about those in rural areas who have to travel long distances in their own transport as public transport is either shite or non-existant ? Will they still be fined ? Who is to say what an 'unnecessary journey' is, in distance, duration or destination ?

What will the taxation revenue be spent on ? Arms ? Some lovely new furniture for the Houses of Parliament ? Or will it actually be spent on minimising climate change ?

Here's an idea, rather than penalising auntie Mabel for going to Tesco, how's about we go after the huge corporate monsters pumping out more Earth-killing shite into the atmosphere than my Ford Focus could ever manage over a billion miles ?

and the if you have nothing to hide stuff is crap too. It is not up to us to justify our basic right to a degree of freedom and privacy, it is up to them to justify removing them

Actually lots of people have lots of things to hide. Like those who are having affairs for instance. It's none of the government's bloody business if someone is shagging someone they shouldn't be.

And I've got loads to hide. I don't want the government to know if I go and stay with a mate in East Anglia. Or if I buy a dress in Marks and Spencer. Or if I visit a country park with my kids. It is simply none of the government's business.

We've all got things to hide, otherwise why are we all anonymous on this site?

And I've got loads to hide. I don't want the government to know if I go and stay with a mate in East Anglia. Or if I buy a dress in Marks and Spencer. Or if I visit a country park with my kids. It is simply none of the government's business.

We've all got things to hide, otherwise why are we all anonymous on this site?

Nom de Plume I love you