The former Government adviser and Edinburgh transport convener believes breaking the speed limit should be as unacceptable as drink-driving and says that tougher laws will help cut pollution, reduce road deaths and combat congestion. He will tell the Scottish Green Party conference tomorrow that satellite technology could help make speeding a thing of the past.

Mr Begg, a guest speaker at the conference, said: "The policy I would like to see Government and the Scottish Executive adopting is rigid enforcement of speed limits on the road network.

He said one version of the system meant a motorist who exceeded the speed limit would trigger an audible signal inside the car, warning him to slow down.

But a more advanced version would simply not allow drivers to go over the speed limit except in emergencies, when the system could be overridden.

He said ending speeding would also help cut congestion on routes like the Edinburgh city by-pass because a consistent speed resulted in a smoother traffic flow than motorists accelerating, braking and changing lanes.

Mr Begg said motorists were always complaining about speed cameras, but he said: "The message I have for motorists who complain vociferously about paying fines from speeding cameras is 'stop speeding'.

And he said in-car speed limiters were a better answer than speed cameras or traffic calming, which could prove expensive and could damage cars."

"A lot of policies I support are in the 'too difficult' pile because people are afraid of a backlash, but this can be won. No-one would exceed the speed limit and no-one would be fined."

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