Big Brother will control your car. Like, by 2015!

I've been on about government running your car by remote control now for some time, and the possibilities are chilling. Well here we have a policy proposal from the European Union that the government will MAKE you drive the speed limit, by remote control.

All cars could be fitted with devices that stop them going over 70mph, under new EU road safety measures which aim to cut deaths from road accidents by a third.

Under the proposals new cars would be fitted with cameras that could read road speed limit signs and automatically apply the brakes when this is exceeded.

Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, is said to be opposed to the plans, which could also mean existing cars are sent to garages to be fitted with the speed limiters, preventing them from going over 70mph.

The new measures have been announced by the European Commission's Mobility and Transport Department as a measure to reduce the 30,000 people who die on the roads in Europe every year.

Governors you say? Cars already have those, they are called "rev limiters" and they keep engine speed below a set maximum. What are they really proposing here?

The scheme would work either using satellites, which would communicate limits to cars automatically, or using cameras to read road signs. Drivers can be given a warning of the speed limit, or their speed could be controlled automatically under the new measures.

A spokesman for the European Commission said: "There is a currently consultation focusing on speed-limiting technology already fitted to HGVs and buses.

See, that's not a speed governor. That's a system that knows how fast you're supposed to be going, and won't let you go any faster. Probably supplemented with roadside RFID tags, radio commands by satellite, cell phone towers and WiFi, plus other means.

Sound far fetched? It isn't. Camera, GPS, satnav, RFID reader and cell capability are all in one little flip phone. The kind they give away when you buy a $25 phone card. Plug it in to the vehicle's computer with a little dongle, and Big Brother runs your car.

With the result that people will, for the first time ever, really be going 40kph in those asinine 40kph zones you find all over the place. The traffic jams will be stupendous I'm sure, but the Big Brains won't care because its all for the children, you know.

If that sounds like not much of a reason to do it, I've no doubt you're right. The real deal is this: With with such a system, you can set the maximum speed in a given zone to ZERO whenever you want. Meaning there will be lots of places people can't drive into, or more to the point, out of. You would also be able to stop one particular car at will. Don't like a particular guy? Strand his ass by the side of the road in a snowstorm, where the plow will get him.

No word on what the plan is to deal with wise guys defacing road signs. 160KPH MAXIMUM will be found all over Europe before you know it. I'm sure people will have stickers printed up, to make the process easier. Rogue radios too. What Big Brother can make, little brother can hack in a weekend. When fast cars are criminalized, only criminals will have fast cars.