Safe Speed Forums

They know better but have agendas?

To get rid of road works as quickly as possible they need to place contracts such that the time for completion is agreed between experts on both sides but with a sliding payment scale - come in on schedule you get paid the contract amount, come in late and you get paid the contract amount or even suffer penalties, complete early however and you get bonuses, the earlier you finish the bigger the bonus. The duration is based on previous durations for similar work. However this means being prepared to pay more for a better service...

I thought that they had tried to sort out the Roadworks problem with Fines for overrunning the completion date.
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Does anyone on this site have any examples of where the enforcers of regulation are paid for by the fines they reap?

Electronic Toll Collection in Europe and Its Implications for Telematics
DUBLIN, Ireland--Aug. 1, 20055, 2005--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c22524) has announced the addition of An Introduction to Electronic Toll Collection in Europe and Its Implications for Telematics to their offering

This report provides an introduction to the current status and future trends for Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) in Europe. In-line with core competency, the potential impact of ETC on driver information telematics services is highlighted throughout.
The report provides a basic overview of the generic ETC technologies and charging concepts. It identifies the technical, operational and contractual obstacles to international interoperability and assesses the potential for the EC's proposed European Electronic Toll Service.
The European ETC industry has a poor reputation for interoperability, even for a single technology such as DSRC. This, together with the challenges of integrating new technologies and overcoming cross-border contractual issues, suggests that the EC's target of a single ETC box, with a single contract and a single invoice will be very difficult to achieve.
These factors, together with the likelihood that GSM/GPS-based tolling systems will not be fitted to cars. for at least the next 7-10 years suggest that the telematics industry can limit its interest in ETC to a research, rather than product, level for the foreseeable future.

On the subject of congestion being its own disincentive to drive at busy times, I personally agree and take that approach myself, as I hate driving on busy roads, but to give an example of an alternative view, a colleague of mine drives to Wales at the weekend very often, and he always sets off straight after work on a Friday. His argument is that no matter how busy it is, he will still get to his destination sooner by setting off straight away than travelling later at a quieter time, and his time of arrival is all he cares about, not his journey duration. People like this are not motivated by avoiding congestion, but congestion charging could affect his choice of travelling time.