The month of November this year marks an important anniversary in road travel. Fifty years ago the Transport Minister Ernest Marples picked up a telephone and opened the first motorway in Britain. ‘My God, what have I started?’ exclaimed the Minister. Perhaps he was prescient in that half a century later there are eight times the users, and with that comes an increase in accidents.
With the figures multiplied across Europe, think tanks and government bodies have applied their best minds to the problem of road safety. And the news is that caravan enthusiasts could soon find every detail of their drive to a campsite recorded by an aeroplane-style black box recorder.
The European Commission has launched Project Veronica to look into how the technology can be used in cars.
The equipment would monitor and record driver actions such as speed, braking and indication, with the ultimate aim of improving road safety.
However, the Institute of Advanced Motorists has warned that the black box would not necessarily cut the number of accidents on UK roads.
“In terms of road safety the only way it affects how people drive is the cultural thing of ‘there’s a black box watching me so I’ll be careful’,” explained chief examiner Peter Rodger.
He said that while this will have an effect on some drivers, others will not change their habits.
Mr Rodger added that the technology will only help tell what happened in an accident, not prevent it occurring.
