Scanners embedded in road to result in fines for those driving on worn tires?

[vztrt]

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/30/s...ose-driving-o/

Scanners embedded in road to result in fines for those driving on worn tires?
By Zach Bowman RSS feed
Sep 30th 2011 2:32PM

Here's a new one. According to AutoExpress, police in the UK are looking into scanners embedded into roadways that can detect the depth of a vehicle's tire tread. If your rubber doesn't meet a set of pre-determined parameters, you could eventually expect to see a fine show up in the mail. Currently, law enforcement says that the technology will only be used in checkpoint scenarios to alert drivers of a potentially dangerous situation, but given that the system costs somewhere around €50,000, or $67,500 at current conversion rates, critics are concerned that the depth-measuring device will be used as a cudgel to drum up revenue.

That concern is bolstered by the fact that Trevor Hall, a major proponent of speed cameras in the UK, is also behind the measure.

We're all for improving road safety in any way possible, but if this new technology results in fines for motorists, we have concerns. After all, measures like the one proposed here would almost certainly target low-income drivers and unfairly position revenue generation on their shoulders. After all, if you can afford new tires, chances are better that you'll buy them.

News Source: AutoExpress

[Rodp]

I'd have no problem if it flagged the vehicle for waiting police to cast an eye over the tyre, but to record an automatic infringement - ridiculous. Agreed that it's only a matter of time before it goes from alerting motorists that will likely take no action if they're warned by a sign to sending out a surprise in the mail.

[Geez Louise]

Every day a new way is developed to implement fines for "our safety".

[pottery beige]

its not april.....

[Big Bird 17]

Big brother is here to look after us!

[Neale]

I think if they can fine us for unroadworthy cars, we should be able to fine them for uncar worthy roads.

All in the name of safety of course & not to put money in our pockets

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Neale

I think if they can fine us for unroadworthy cars, we should be able to fine them for uncar worthy roads.

All in the name of safety of course & not to put money in our pockets

Why make the roads safer when one can slow everyone down to a call and fine the crap out of ya.

[naddis01]

Personally I wouldn't really care if they fined people for having unroadworthy tyres. In fact that sounds great to me.

The problem I have is the accuracy of the system. How can they be sure that the system is correct 100% of the time?

[HULK EF]

just like "Speed camera's"

fines the driver.. rakes the $$$ in,
But doesnt pull the driver over giving them a small lecture..

[JC]

A better way to do it would be to fine the driver, and once paid, present the driver with a "tyre certificate" they take along to their local tyre store and have new tyres fitted. Price difference between sizes etc would be a headache, but at least the fines would actually be rectifying the situation.

[Thornie]

The quality they build roads in aus these scanners embedded would last a week before the road surface around em peels up and they pop out.

[Bushbasher]

.... and what happens the first time some poor bugger happens to have a tyre full of mud or stones caught in the the tread? The bloody scanner won't know the difference, all it will know is that it can't read any tread depth.... and how long before you get fined dependent on tread depth; less tread - bigger fine.
I agree with Neale. I reacon if they were allowed to fine us for bad tyres then we should be able to fine them for the damage their bad roads do to our cars.


Bushbasher

[BFZ Wagon]

That article is hilarious.

I'm with Neale, people should be able to go them for the crap roads. There's always some group of numbnuts out there trying to get money out of the motorist any way they can.

Big brother is watching you.

[jpd80]

My biggest fear is that this technology wil be used to raise revenue and fine people whos tyres are 1mm out of compliance.

This rates right up there with automated parking meter fines and GPS linked speeding fines.

Not meaning to sound negative but you just know that governments are looking at
new technology as easy revenue, not road safety, so I doubt it will be used correctly...

[Zaxx]

Zz, just what we need.
Another way to make us pay..

[z80]

A vigilante would easily defeat this technology if unmanned and permanent.

I still have the vision of a burning tyre placed on top of speed cameras in London.

massive fail....

[kaniSS]

Don't you just love these new innovative ways to rip a few more $$ out of your pocket? You can be sure this technology will find it's was here in no time. All in the name of safety.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by JC

A better way to do it would be to fine the driver, and once paid, present the driver with a "tyre certificate" they take along to their local tyre store and have new tyres fitted. Price difference between sizes etc would be a headache, but at least the fines would actually be rectifying the situation.

Not a bad idea, perhaps use the centrelink system to arrange for a government loan that can only be used for the fitment of tyres to the car. Of course it would have to be means tested so it it is only used by those that need it and not those that can afford new tyres but to tight to buy them.

[EB#]

Checkpoint scenario......$67 grand for the electronic gizmo, or $1 for a short metal ruler ???
Which one do you reckon a government would would fork out for ?

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by EB92

Checkpoint scenario......$67 grand for the electronic gizmo, or $1 for a short metal ruler ???
Which one do you reckon a government would would fork out for ?

The $67 grand device...

Hey, they have no problem buying a fleet of vehicles like big four wheel drives, tying up police man hours, and purchasing hundreds of thousands of bucks worth of laser and radar detectors and spend more unknown sums on the upkeep of them, when all they used to have was cops who were already on duty and on the clock driving around and pulling people over while they're out driving around anyway.

Do you honestly think any government has ever chosen "the cheap option" or made use of services that were already in place (cops driving around using thier eyes) when a flashy new expensive system could be put in place that will be way more profitable?
Never underestimate how happy the government is to blow taxpayers dollars on programs just to make it look like they're "doing something about the problem".

[RedWagon]

It's a good idea to keep all the ****** cars with bald tyres off the roads. You know the ones, nice shiny 18's on the front, 14" stocks on the back, no springs in the back, factory height in the front...

[Fled74]

"The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

-Ayn Rand

[Ben73]

Then when everyone starts buying new tyres all the time, watch the government increase the amount of tread which is considered bald.

[AndrewR_AUII]

Are defects issued on the cars ?
How long until the owner gets the fine in the mail ??

If this is aimed at getting unsafe cars off the road, it should be taking the cars off the road at the time the defect is detected.

[mrbaxr6t]

if they can fine us for this I will fine them for balljoint damage due to speed bumps and globes popping as they have a love of those little savage jolt your car speedbumps that blow your globes, also I will fine them for my tickford rim that got destroyed when I hit a pothole new rim at the time was around $600 iirc and the sechander cost me $250. What a joke how long before some hoon lights their tyres up on the sensors or rips them out with a pinch bar, wouldn't it be much easier to get some uniformed police officers and have them do visual tyre inspections and breathos?

[TheInterceptor]

On the bright side they will be easier to destroy than a monitored speed camera.

[BHDOGS]

Id happily destroy them in the roads personally as its to much

[aussie muscle]

why don't we just get a garage to check the car once a year, oh wait, we already do that.....

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Ben73

Then when everyone starts buying new tyres all the time, watch the government increase the amount of tread which is considered bald.

Or certain types of tyres confusing the sensors...anyone else remember when those high performance Yokahama tyres with the directional tread and a "bald strip" on one side of the tyre came out? Plenty of people got pulled up with police scratching thier head and claiming they were "illegal" as there was "no tread" on one part of the tyre. I imagine a sensor would look at the tyre, see there was a blank spot along one side, and ping the person for having a partly bald tyre...

That was many years ago now...but look up the new "Yokohama Advan", the AO-48R...how would a sensor assess that tyre? It would probably see a certain percentage of the tyres as being "bald"...

[ltd]

Australian Governmental Authorities - "We've got what it takes, to take everything you've got".

What a joke, what next; mandatory colonoscopies for a new "polyp tax"?
I hate our insidious, ridiculous, over-zealous bunch of elected socialist scum.