John Evans recently laid out the UK government’s plan. More AI-powered road cameras. Penalty points for skipping seatbelts. Dodging tax. Letting insurance lapse. The works.
It makes me nervous. I like privacy. Yet I support it. Surprise me.
You probably think road testers are libertarians with a taste for speed. Thud.
We are. We seek out quiet roads to break new toys. But we keep those secrets tight. No advertising the locations. No upsetting the locals. Those routes are professional currency. If we burn them, we lose access. We know how it works.
Bottom line. We just want better driving. Clearer roads.
A quick confession. I got three points recently.
Fair cop.
I hit 59 mph on a local A-road. It used to be under the national limit. I needed a sting in the tail. It worked. I now check the speed buzzer before I drive. A painful but effective habit.
The system is obsessed with speed, though. That’s the issue.
If we expand enforcement, we need a bigger rethink. Not just more fines. A shift in philosophy. Has the current speed-centric model actually saved lives in the last fifteen years?
Not really.
So why look only at the speedometer? Look at the lanes.
The UK has different rules for heavy goods. Lorries, big vans, pickups. They can’t go as fast. The cameras ignore this. This failure feeds our biggest road cancer.
Poor lane discipline.
We argue about higher motorway limits for years. Pointless. Why race at 90 if a Ford Transit blocks the outside lane at 65? It’s a traffic jam in motion.
Here is the fix.
Restrict the big ones
Limit lorries and coaches.
Put them in lane one on duals and three-lanes. Use lanes one and two only if there is a fourth. No more slow-moving processions on the overtaking lane. Let them move. Or stay back.
Cap the medium ones
Small commercial vehicles. Vans, pickups, minibuses.
Confine them to lanes one and two. But raise their limit. Give them all 70 mph on duals. Consistency matters. Speed up the medium freight. Keep it behind the passenger traffic.
Free the small ones
Cars. Motorbikes.
Give them exclusive access to lane three. Shared rights to the first two. Set the limit to 80 mph.
But penalise those who hog the middle lane when they have no right to.
Can an AI camera fairly police lane discipline?
Doubtful.
Machines are good at speed. Bad at context. If you park in lane two for no reason, an algorithm might miss it. Or flag a safety maneuver as a violation.
Leave the lane hogging to human police. Patrol cars. Discretion. Real judgment.
AI handles the speed. The cops handle the entitlement.
Maybe that works.
