Pay as you go driving - the privacy issue

Much has been made of the issue of privacy with the pay as you go driving scheme proposed by the government. I believe that this is a non issue, as we have already not only lost our privacy, but are close to losing our right to privacy outside our homes.

Addressing the first point is quite simple - most people in the UK now have a mobile phone, and this is essentially a way of tracking us as we move through our societies. The proliferation of mobile phone masts, to deal with the volume of people using mobile phones, means that we can be tracked more accurately than ever, and indeed new services are available where you can text for a taxi and they know roughly where you are. This is where the mobile phone companies use information about which mast you are using, and ultimately this will be developed to for triangulation from a number of masts to locate your exact position - this technology I believe, if not available now will be soon.

Therefore, the only way for you to be anonymous in today's society is to switch off your mobile and live somewhere where there are no CCTV cameras and not to shop in any of the high street or supermarket shops! Unless you're fan of the Goode Life you don't stand a chance.

My seconds point is a bit more involved, as I state that we are close to losing our right to anonymity. At this point you must understand that I am not in favour of losing our privacy, but I am fundamentally in favour of people being identified when they are being anti social or breaking the law. This is a tough one to call, as the majority (although I believe not the vast majority) of people are law abiding, however, there is an increasing minority, and not such a small minority in towns and cities, who are not law abiding, be that anti social behaviour, illegal driving (no tax or insurance) or just criminal, e.g. violent attacks. I believe that broadly speaking (I also accept that these things cannot be addressed in only a broad manner) that there are three areas that need to be tackled now so that a future government cannot justify tagging us all because of this rising trend.

The first area and easiest to deal with is immigrants. In the UK we have a crazy policy that if someone wants to come to this country they can do so in two ways - by declaring themselves an asylum seeker or by being sponsored by a relative already living in the country (of course, if they are European they can come and go as they please). Either way, they will not be allowed to work with the exception of a work permit for a short period with proof that no one else in the country is available for the job. So, we end up supporting these people with shelter, food, health etc. and human nature being human nature, they want a bit more out of life, so they get cash in hand jobs.

This is where we need to address a big issue that would benefit all - let these people work as soon as they enter the country (unless they are a perceived threat to the country - another posting!) and contribute to the country from the outset. They will not be taking "our" jobs as they are already doing them for cash, and will be putting at least something back into the country's coffers to help our ailing heath and educational services. This would than put an end to their illegal (by necessity rather than choice) activities and remove the need to tag this growing part of our society.

The second area focuses on the youth of today, or "youf of toda" as they are otherwise known. Youths need their energy focused away from graffiti and anti social behaviour, which is increasingly becoming a trendy thing to do. There are two main factors which affect this sector of our society, with a third, equally important but sadly missing today, that needs to be reinstated.

The first are is parenting, and no I'm not attacking parents as I believe the vast majority do what they can under increasingly difficult circumstances. Parents toady are under too much pressure from the workplace, and as a result do not spend the time with their children that my generation received and use the easily provided distractions of games consoles and TV to give themselves time, not usually for themselves, but to do the chores awaiting them on their return from work. This also has the side effect of making our children unhealthy and lacking in social skills.

The second are that needs to be addressed is schools, and again I'm not attacking the schools. Rather, the curriculum needs to be less focused solely on the academic, but needs to be able to bring out the best in each child, so if a child shows the ability in practical matters, why shouldn't they be taught car maintenance, plumbing etc. instead of being tagged a failure because of their academic ability - this type of teaching would also bring out better results in other academic subjects due to their essential requirement in the skill being taught, e.g. maths and English.

The third point would provide a healthy solution for parents to give more focused time to their kids and would use facilities available in all schools to help benefit the community - after school activitied. These would not be run by teachers (unless they wanted to do them, and they would be paid extra for the service) but by qualified coaches and teachers. Sports are a great way of not only keeping fit, but of developing social, leadership and organisational skills to name but a few.

Yes, this would cost money, but the main reason this is not being done is because of the public liability insurance required, and in this era of "where there's pain there's a claim" this has become uneconomical. This attitude needs to have a line drawn around it - if you participate in sports you're going to get injured, and as long as the coach is not negligent, what's the problem? In this country we throw our arms up in disgust when a child is killed in a tragic accident and blame the teacher or coach - accidents happen, even to kids, but if we wrap our kids up in bubble wrap they will be devoured when they have to fend for themselves in the real world, and indeed more and more are finding it impossible to cope when they leave home.

We need to channel the energy of our young people in different ways, they are not all academically gifted, and provide them with activities that will remove the need for them to behave in an antisocial way, which again will ultimately end up with a future government using this behaviour as an excuse for tagging us all.

The third area, and indeed an underlying reason for the pay as you go driving proposal, is the way people drive. More and more drivers show disregard for the Highway Code that is reckless and dangerous. The only feasible way for the government to deal with this is to tag each car so that this kind of behaviour can be punished. This will happen if people continue to drive the way they now do. The only benefit (in terms of lack of privacy) of this system is that the roads will become safer and therefore insurance cheaper.