Skip to main content

A change of tack

For some time, it has been evident that the quickening pace of technological advancement has been outpacing the ability of legislators to introduce new laws and amend existing legislation. One example was, apparently, UK legislation specifying that vehicles are fitted with filament lights which was drafted to outlaw acetylene lamps but a century later delayed the introduction of LED technology on vehicles.
December 18, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
For some time, it has been evident that the quickening pace of technological advancement has been outpacing the ability of legislators to introduce new laws and amend existing legislation. One example was, apparently, UK legislation specifying that vehicles are fitted with filament lights which was drafted to outlaw acetylene lamps but a century later delayed the introduction of LED technology on vehicles.


To overcome unintended legislative hurdles and plug exploitable gaps, most legal systems have become an unwieldy colossus of documentation with clauses and sub-clauses.

Therefore the process of amending legislation or introducing new laws has become extremely complex and slow, causing widespread frustration. Indeed, some companies have adopted a ‘catch me if you can’ attitude; simply putting new products and services onto the market without bothering about the legal niceties.

It has become evident that legislators can no longer second-guess technological developments and the more detailed the legislation, the more holes it creates. What is needed is to move from a system where everything is considered legal unless it is specifically banned, to a process whereby law makers lay out the aims and guiding principles of the legislation. Companies, authorities and individuals will then be held accountable to the letter, and spirit, of the legislation.

While this approach would facilitate the introduction of new technologies and services, it would also have other implications which would be welcomed by many – but not necessarily the suppliers. For instance, instead of increasing penalties for drivers using mobile phones, legislators should say that by a certain deadline on all new phones it should not be possible for drivers to read or send texts (and arguably phone calls) while moving. All methods of circumventing that legislation would be against the spirit of the law (and therefore illegal) while the suppliers would be free to devise how they wished to comply with those requirements.

The safety gain would be immense, enforcement costs would be virtually zero and other developments would not be prohibited. To me, that sounds like a win-win situation.

Related Content

  • HGV speed limit pilot given the seal of approval
    October 22, 2014
    The legislation to allow heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to travel at 50mph on sections of single carriageway on the A9 between Perth and Inverness in Scotland has been signed and will come into force at the same time as the average speed camera system on the route becomes operational – 28 October. The pilot, which was approved by the Scottish Parliament earlier this year, will help to improve journey times and also driver behaviour, by reducing frustration, queue lengths and journey times for HGVs. Trans
  • Smart Cities put people, prudence and businesses before technology
    December 4, 2014
    Caroline Haynes tells ITS International that transport planners and equipment suppliers need to adopt different thinking and the smartest cities don’t call themselves smart. The term Smart Cities has been around for some time and has become something of a catch-all term applied to novel or futuristic technology deployed in an urban setting.
  • Telematics standards need to evolve to keep up with technology
    July 30, 2012
    Scott Andrews and Scott McCormick take a look at how standards development for the telematics environment needs itself to evolve in order to stay abreast of technological advances. While the road has been somewhat arduous, telematics has evolved from a research activity to a resource for fleet operators, consumers and road management authorities.
  • Transport policy doesn’t operate in a vacuum
    April 7, 2014
    Intertraffic offers traffic planners and other transportation professionals the opportunity to view and find out about the latest cutting-edge technology in the market. Behind the scenes, engineers have been working away to solve the technical problems traffic planners are facing and some they didn’t even know they had. Indeed it seems the technology is now available for authorities to do almost anything: to detect, select, identify, measure, charge, prosecute, influence and inform the travelling public.