Pay-to-speed' considered in US
A Nevada State mayoral candidate has wooed car-owning voters by proposing a 'speed pass' system that will essentially allow drivers to speed for a fee.
Eugene DiSimone reckons the scheme could raise up to $4m (£2.6m) per day in revenue for state coffers.
DiSimone's proposal involves drivers paying an initial $48 (£31) fee to have their car safety checked and registered to the scheme. Thereafter they will pay $25 (£16) for a 24-hour pass to drive at speeds of up to 90mph on certain roads.
Approved cars are placed on a register so that if an officer catches them speeding, they're simply let go. A transponder given to each driver can be activated whenever the fee is paid via the internet or a phone call, allowing time-limited speeding.
DiSimone is a rank underdog to make office in the next Nevada State elections, but his plan has garnered instant support from motorists.
Talking on Seattle-based KIRO radio, DiSimone defended the proposal, saying that speed and accident rates are not inexorably linked.
He said: "the per capita highway accidents in the '60s and '70s when there were no speed limits is not significantly different to the per capita highway accidents today. It has nothing to do with speed limits."
Of course, the plan has drawn critics from those who believe it will lead to an increase in accident rates. A representative from the state of Washington claimed that "the wide variety of traffic speed in the traffic flow and drivers' abilities to make a decision at a high speed potentially would result in more speed-related accidents."
what do you think?
A Nevada State mayoral candidate has wooed car-owning voters by proposing a 'speed pass' system that will essentially allow drivers to speed for a fee.
Eugene DiSimone reckons the scheme could raise up to $4m (£2.6m) per day in revenue for state coffers.
DiSimone's proposal involves drivers paying an initial $48 (£31) fee to have their car safety checked and registered to the scheme. Thereafter they will pay $25 (£16) for a 24-hour pass to drive at speeds of up to 90mph on certain roads.
Approved cars are placed on a register so that if an officer catches them speeding, they're simply let go. A transponder given to each driver can be activated whenever the fee is paid via the internet or a phone call, allowing time-limited speeding.
DiSimone is a rank underdog to make office in the next Nevada State elections, but his plan has garnered instant support from motorists.
Talking on Seattle-based KIRO radio, DiSimone defended the proposal, saying that speed and accident rates are not inexorably linked.
He said: "the per capita highway accidents in the '60s and '70s when there were no speed limits is not significantly different to the per capita highway accidents today. It has nothing to do with speed limits."
Of course, the plan has drawn critics from those who believe it will lead to an increase in accident rates. A representative from the state of Washington claimed that "the wide variety of traffic speed in the traffic flow and drivers' abilities to make a decision at a high speed potentially would result in more speed-related accidents."
what do you think?
imp:
