The online racing simulator
CCTV at petrol stations will automatically stop uninsured cars being filled with fuel
haha, this is a fantastic idea
#3 - Krane
Spectacularly ingenious way to make foreign cars, lorries and bikes entering to UK impossible.
If anything, you will see a rise in cloned cars, not foreign ones.

However, despite this not stopping uninsured cars being on the road completely, it's still a fantastic idea and quite possibly the first motoring idea from the government that I have strongly agreed with in a long time!
It also has the added advantage of making life hell for bell-ends with plates like this:




Quote from Nathan_French_14 :If anything, you will see a rise in cloned cars, not foreign ones.

Cloning requires effort, expense and the neccesary underhanded contacts though. The main reason uninsured cars are so rife is that getting insured takes a small amount of effort and costs money, while going uninsured takes no work, and is free. Many people will take the first option over the second, regardless of the risk of getting caught.
Quote from Crashgate3 :Cloning requires effort, expense and the neccesary underhanded contacts though. The main reason uninsured cars are so rife is that getting insured takes a small amount of effort and costs money, while going uninsured takes no work, and is free. Many people will take the first option over the second, regardless of the risk of getting caught.

Effot? Expense? All you need to do is find another car either online or IRL that is identical to yours, and get plates made up. You can go to any motor factor and get them to make up "show plates" with the correct UK font.

However, I do agree that cloning a car is a lot harder than just jumping in an uninsured car and driving off, not to mention the fact that if caught, you can go to prison for fraud instead of just getting a fine, 6 points and getting your car impounded.

All in all though, this is still a very good idea and I welcome it with open arms. While I am by no means a saint and regularly break some sort of motoring law on a daily basis, one thing I cannot stand is people who drive uninsured cars, whether it be via pure ignorance (i.e, not buying it in the first place!) or by driving cars with undeclared modifications. They are absolute scum in my eyes, and I just hope that come the time that they have an inevitable crash, they hurt no-one else but themselves.
greta idea but i can see the point about the retailers not liking the idea since their staff and premises will be at the point of conflict

it could also be a boom for the small petrol stations that can't afford fancy camera tech if that's the only place the uninsured can fill up
No its a boon the the bureaucracy that will set up the cameras, pay people to manage the system, and make you foot the bill. Perhaps if the incredibly unfair auto insurance price in the UK wasn't a form of punishment for owning a car more people would buy it.
its good for ireland/uk who could share the system, maybe not the rest ( cams for our plates only until system improvements )
Quote from flymike91 :No its a boon the the bureaucracy that will set up the cameras, pay people to manage the system, and make you foot the bill.

The ANPR technology is already in 99% of garage forecourts, to catch people driving off without paying. It's just a case of interfacing it with the insurance companies.
Quote from Crashgate3 :It also has the added advantage of making life hell for bell-ends with plates like this:



wait, what? That's a legal plate over there?
There's nothing to a stop you buying a personalised plate with 'Sexy Yar1s' (apart from taste and decency...) but the font is illegal. It doesn't stop people trying to get away with having stupid fonts though.
Quote from Crashgate3 :There's nothing to a stop you buying a personalised plate with 'Sexy Yar1s' (apart from taste and decency...) but the font is illegal. It doesn't stop people trying to get away with having stupid fonts though.

Interesting. I have never, ever seen someone try to get away with a different font here. I don't understand how that could even be an option
You'd get stopped by the police (as they have ANPR cameras mounted) if you had it, but that doesn't stop some people.

I'd wager you can minimise the number of police cars you drive past, but it's hard to not have to stop for petrol.
Quote from Crashgate3 :It also has the added advantage of making life hell for bell-ends with plates like this:

Actually one of the things that annoys me most in the UK. As much as I love the German style of plate in particular it's retarded to put a UK plate in any other style than what it's supposed to be.

But trust Americans to completely overlook CCTV's effectiveness as always, people from the US seems to think CCTV is perverse and intrusive. To put it straight right now. If you're not doing anything wrong, why should CCTV bother you?
CCTV is not the best way to prevent people from driving off without paying for gas. In the US you can't even start pumping gas until your card has been approved at the pump or you've payed with cash inside. Is it better to catch people committing crimes or make them impossible to commit?

@Krane: some US states are improving these obsolete and misinterpreted 'wiretapping' laws for the better, but unfortunately they aren't improving the obsolete and misinterpreting police officers.
Quote from Krane :Why then does people filming cops get arrested/harassed, are you implying the cops are doing something illegal??

Well I wouldn't want somebody obstructing MY job right there in my face with audio and video recording from a phone or such but I don't know about anyone else. CCTV is different. It's there for security. Recording cops is just bordering on being a nuisance. Besides, each case is a confidential matter and any recording can alter the course of true justice.

You'll notice alot of the people recording and being arrested are those in conjunction with protests, and you can draw your own conclusions as to why THAT is.
Quote from BlueFlame :Actually one of the things that annoys me most in the UK. As much as I love the German style of plate in particular it's retarded to put a UK plate in any other style than what it's supposed to be.

But trust Americans to completely overlook CCTV's effectiveness as always, people from the US seems to think CCTV is perverse and intrusive. To put it straight right now. If you're not doing anything wrong, why should CCTV bother you?

If the government does it. Security.
If Google does it. Intrusive.
Which one right now has been more openly intrusive towards citizens?
One evil can be better than another.
But I am all for catching the people that break the law and making life harder for them.
#20 - DeKo
This sounds like a great idea, the askmid service is well known for being quickly updated and reliable, proven by me being accused of having no insurance after purchasing insurance about a week earlier. I can't wait to be standing in a petrol station like a dick and be treated like a criminal.

Blueflame, fortunately being a nuisance to a pig isn't against the law. Neither is recording absolutely everything they do. They really love it when it happens. What point are you trying to make about protestors by the way, are they criminals? Idiots? Shouldn't be allowed to film a copper abusing his power simply because they feel the need to protest against something?
Wait, this all begs an even more wtf worthy thing to me... y'all can start pumping gas without paying first? How does that even...? Why?

That's the simplest solution by far. Just make it impossible to do.
Quote from RiseAgainstMe! :Wait, this all begs an even more wtf worthy thing to me... y'all can start pumping gas without paying first? How does that even...? Why?

That's the simplest solution by far. Just make it impossible to do.

Here in Jersey you have to have an attendant (me) pump your gas, and pay afterward. The gas pumps don't have the credit card slot built in so I have to run the card manually inside.
Quote from CheerioDM :If the government does it. Security.
If Google does it. Intrusive.
Which one right now has been more openly intrusive towards citizens?
One evil can be better than another.
But I am all for catching the people that break the law and making life harder for them.

It's only CCTV it's not some ultimate demon coming to get you watching you whilst you wank.

Private users use it on their own properties to protect their interests and the government does the same. You can just put random cameras where you want, there are obviously various permissions you need to attain before doing so.

I really don't know what fascinates people from the USA about CCTV and it's weird that you all seem to think that it's only the UK that has a great number of CCTV setups.
#24 - Jakg
Quote from RiseAgainstMe! :Wait, this all begs an even more wtf worthy thing to me... y'all can start pumping gas without paying first? How does that even...? Why?

That's the simplest solution by far. Just make it impossible to do.

In the UK you put in the fuel and then pay.

Might seem alien to you... but how would you get a full tank in the US?
Quote from Jakg :In the UK you put in the fuel and then pay.

Might seem alien to you... but how would you get a full tank in the US?

Cash:
Give them too much and get your change afterwards.

Card:
Automatically charges how much you pump.

At worst, it's an extra trip inside, but most people use card. But it also makes it impossible to drive off, unless there is some loophole I don't know of.
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