Should fit a tracker

I FULLY agree with Peter's suggestion that every licenced boat on the system should have a tracker fitted. To quote the words of a prime minister 'anyone who has a problem with that, has a problem'.

 

Of course it will never happen unless we kick out the European Human Rights Act, but it would immediately give a true picture of boat movements (or not) and even give rise to prioritising maintenance and repair to those parts of the system that are frequently used. That's not to say that the rest should be abandoned, but with a limited financial resource, can CaRT keep all 2000+ miles of waterway in navigating state?

Benefit to boaters

Yes there are those that will say it is another arm of the snoopers charter; there are very few couriers or service organisations around today that do not track their vehicles—and even allow access to us to see where our deliveries are. That would be a great benefit to boaters wishing to minimise queues at locks or even look ahead to see if there are spaces at their planned overnight stops. This would of course just indicate a presence not individual details.

It may be pie in the sky, but it may be worth a punt. Or is the technology already there? We have mobile phones or GPS/Sat Nav so our whereabouts are already triangulated and known in cyberland. If you don't believe it, just look on Google Maps. If you don't have GPS but use a mobile phone, tablet or MiFi dongle—it knows!

I will gladly volunteer for a trial because I am a considerate boater and abide by the rules laid down. Who will join me?