Implementing a proposed electronic driving licence would be a
complete waste of money, leading road experts warned last week,
writes Pravin Jeyaraj
The European Union has announced it is looking into a driving
licence that also uses smartcard technology to double as an
ignition key.
The card could also have the ability - when linked to the car's
electronics - to control speed, limiting speeds for newly-qualified
drivers.
But the Automobile Association says that, while the technology
does exist, such a smartcard driving licence would be "very
difficult to implement in practice".
The AA also believes that it would be better to focus on better
driver training rather than having a two-tier system of new drivers
and experienced drivers.
An AA spokesman suggests, "Alternatively, in a few years' time,
there will be cars which can advise drivers on speed limits using a
GPS satellite tracking system."
The AA has already carried out a survey into public attitudes to
an electronic driving licence and found that there is a great deal
of public resistance to cars which take away control from the
driver.
An electronic driving licence has already been tested in Sweden.
If introduced into Britain, it is expected to have a huge impact on
car theft and road safety.
But the spokesman claims, "Essentially, road safety and car
theft are not such big problems to warrant the expense of large
sums of money on a driving licence when there are more important
areas."
Motoring tax brings in £36bn for the Treasury, but only £6bn is
spent on transport in general. The AA say the money should be spent
on repairing roads and improving public transport.
The RAC Foundation also has doubts over whether an electronic
licence would be effective in cutting excessive speeding, but says
it welcomes the card's potential to cut car crime.