Slow to chide, quicker to praise

The history of traffic speed enforcement from the nineteenth century to the present day is traced. It is suggested that too much emphasis has beenplaced on penalising drivers where help and education would have been preferable. Automated detection schemes are considered to have significantlyincreased the number of drivers caught, without reducing casualties, and to have caused alienation amongst the motoring population. Drawing parallels with lending money and assessing credit-worthiness, a scheme is put forward where drivers would earn or lose points according to driving behaviour. The concept is based on the increasing availability of technology which could be employed to monitor driver behaviour. A device installed in the vehicle could allow historic good behaviour to be taken into account inthe event of a transgression and could offer the opportunity to earn backcredits for good behaviour thereby encouraging compliance.