In London most motorists are charged a fee for travelling within designated CCZ (Congestion Charge Zone). The intention is to decrease congestion, and to augment funds for investment in London's transportation system.

CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) Enforcement

As part of an on going commitment to ease traffic congestion, lower emissions and improve road safety Haringey , one of London's 32 boroughs, located north of London, uses a network of CCTV cameras to enforce both parking and traffic infringements.

A payment of almost $16.00 a day is charged for vehicles that travel within these zones between 7am and 6pm; a fine is imposed for non-payment. The Congestion Charge Zone fees are causing declines on many business enterprises.

In September 2005 Haringey was one of the first London Boroughs to use 'Smart Cars' to undertake mobile enforcement in locations that are not covered by static CCTV cameras. Their activity focused on locations that the street enforcement team found challenging to enforce.     

So, a group of angry Haringey citizens started a web site called www.angryofhavering.co.uk. The website has been receiving an average of 2,000 hits a week.

The Smart Car is the latest idea to hit Havering's streets in the war against the motorist. The Smart Cars are armed with cameras and cruise the streets targeting what the web site sarcastically calls "the most dangerous in our society, the car owner."

Councilor Barry Tebbutt the man Angry of Havering identified with the introduction of the Smart Car is being called a modern day highwayman, by many angry Haringey citizens.

There upset at the fact in the first 8 months since the introduction of the "Smart Cars" they issued some 15,297 notices and 586 tickets in and around Havering schools in the last few months.

The web site states “The Council would have us believe that the Smart Car is all about safety and has nothing to do with raising money. If it is a danger to public safety to stop on a yellow line even for just a short while then employees of the Council who flout these laws should be fined too and disciplined and persistent offenders dismissed from the councils employment.”

By the way, the US embassy in London - whose head has been described by London's mayor as a "chiseling little crook" - now owes $3,989,960 in unpaid congestion charges and other traffic penalties, according to the Guardian news paper.