Pay-as-you-drive road tax

[Wizzo]

Pay-as-you-drive road taxes are being trialled by the Government.

Several pilots are taking place across Britain and cars have been fitted with black boxes on their dashboard which can be tracked by satellites. This means their exact movements can be tracked and the Department of Transport is apparently appointing companies to carry out the schemes.

Members of the public will be asked to take part in the trials which could take place at some point between now and 2010. The trials will mostly consist of a satellite tracking a vehicle's movements and motorists will then receive a monthly or weekly bill which will vary depending on when and where they drove.

Labour has come under severe criticism for its plans to overhaul road tax and the Tories have warned that the 'spy in the sky' projects will pave the way for a national road pricing programme.

Theresa Villiers, the shadow Transport Secretary, said: 'It seems that Labour's unpopular plans for a national road pricing scheme are alive and well. They are determined to press ahead with their untried and untested spy-in-the-sky national project even though it looks like an IT disaster waiting to happen. Ruth Kelly should start listening to drivers and scrap these pilots for a national road pricing scheme that is unnecessary and unwanted.'

Hang on a minute, don't we already have a 'pay as you drive tax?' The tax on fuel in the UK is 85%, if thats not 'Pay as You Go' then I don't know what is?

[Steven Roy]

The one thing you can guarantee after any government changes road taxation is that we will pay more.  Given the government's record with IT projects some poor sod will end up with a bill for driving 2.5 million miles in 37 minutes.

[cosworth151]

I know truck drivers who have similar devices attached to their rigs so that they can't use them for side jobs.I've become rather good at hooking them to an external power supply and removing them from the trucks. 

[Alianora La Canta]

Assuming the government doesn't simply stop all traffic for six weeks while someone rushes out Service Pack 1 for Eye-In-The-Sky version 1.0.