British eye on offenders

And you thought George Orwell's book 1984, about a Big Brother regime, was science fiction.

Military technology is tackling the abuse of transit lanes reserved with cars with more than two occupants.

The British Army's latest thermal and digital imaging gear counts the number of people in each car on British arterial routes - and automatically issues tickets to offenders.

The same technology may also be used to detect overloaded vehicles.

Meanwhile, British policewoman Debbie Ashton has been found guilty of speeding while on patrol and fined $150.

Senior police said the booking was appropriate as she was not attending an emergency.