THE Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system and the in-vehicle unit (IU) have been part of motoring in Singapore for a long time.

However, it was only two years ago, after many calls for the IU to be modified, that a slimmer model was introduced.

Last month, the Government invited experts to bid for the revamp of the ERP system to incorporate global positioning system (GPS) technology.

This signals a likely major overhaul of the design and features available in the IU.

However, why settle only for GPS? The following features and functions could also be included: Electronic public-carpark payments At some public carparks without gantries, motorists still have to use coupons to pay for parking.

The IU could be a green alternative for making parking payments.

Motorists could activate it after they have parked, and a light on the IU would indicate that a motorist has paid for his parking.

Solar panels

As IUs are exposed to sunlight for a considerable amount of time, they could be fitted with solar panels to produce energy to power a car.

Black box

The IU could incorporate a black box, similar to those used in aircraft.

This would help provide data for investigations in the event of an accident.

Dual cameras

The IU could be fitted with front- and back-facing cameras.

The front-facing cameras could record situations on the road for investigation purposes in the event of an accident, while back-facing cameras would help deter would-be robbers in taxis.

Radio transmitter

A radio transmitter incorporated in the IU could broadcast urgent traffic messages. Motorists would therefore receive updates without having to keep their radios on.

Speed-limit detector

This would be similar to what used to be fitted on goods vehicles. Transmitting devices on roads could communicate with IUs to establish the correct speed limit on different roads. A single IU does not have to include all the features above, as drivers could be given an option to customise IUs according to their needs.

These suggestions can be refined further.

Those above can be used as a starting point to relook how the IU is used.

MR REUBEN CHEANG HON THENG