Every new car sold in UK will have to have a ‘black box’ device installed to track drivers’ movements from 2015, if EU gets its way. Britain has serious concerns about cost and privacy, but UK ministers admit they don’t have the power to stop the Big Brother technology being forced on motorists and auto makers. The UK Government believes that the gadget which helps the emergency services to find crashed vehicles, will add at least £100 to the cost of vehicles without providing significant safety improvements.
This new scheme is known as eCall and officials fear that the information can be used by insurance companies and police to monitor motorists’ every move. A new ruling by the European Commission has ruled that by October 2015, all new cars and vans sold across Europe must be fitted with the technology. This new technology, eCall, features a mobile phone-like SIM card which transmits vehicle’s location to emergency services in the event of a crash.
UK has strong opposition to this new policy and in a letter to MPs, Transport Minister Robert Goodwill writes: ‘The basis for our opposition is that costs to the UK outweigh the benefits.
‘Unfortunately, there is very little support for the UK position and no possibility of blocking this legislation. We are working with other member states to minimise the potential burdens on manufacturers and the potential cost to consumers.’
‘With regard to the rules on privacy and data protection, other member states have expressed similar concerns to us, about the potential for constant tracking of vehicles via the eCall system.’
Emma Carr, of civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, said last night: ‘Motorists will not be comfortable forcibly having a black box installed which is capable of recording and transmitting their exact location when they are driving.’
The new system will have an SOS button near the dashboard, linked to a SIM card, allows drivers to call 999 quickly. In an event of airbags being deployed it automatically sends a text message to the emergency services with car’s location. Motorists will be unable to switch it off and it will be tested in MoT checks. Brussels insists eCall will save 2,500 lives a year by speeding up emergency services response times.
Do you think that EU fitting every car with a tracker is a good idea? Share what you think.
