In 2005 the government unveiled plans to fit global positioning systems to all new cars sold in the UK. The scheme intends to monitor fixed signals sent from each and every vehicle on British roads.

The government intend to use the satellite-based system as the foundation for national motor taxation that would be based on mileage and road use, similar in principal to a mobile phone pay-as-you-go tariff. The technology could be used to monitor much more though and as such the scheme has met with protests.