Capital punishment for diesel drivers?

Air pollution is a massive difficulty for the UK.

So massive a problem has it turn into that earlier this year the European Commission launched legal proceedings against the government for missing its air pollution targets.

In a bid to tackle the dilemma, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, is organizing to make central London an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). That would mean that diesel drivers who venture into the capital could uncover themselves having to stump up an added fee on best of the congestion charge.

2020 vision

Although there are calls for the modifications to come into force sooner, the strategy is to implement the ULEZ by 2020. And where London leads, other major towns and cities across the UK could well follow.

This would generate districts in which all but the cleanest of engines would be penalised. Diesel cars that didn’t meet the required Euro 6 standard – which comes into impact from January 2015 – would have to pay the fee.

Negative news if you drive a diesel, and a genuine kick in the particulates if you actually purchased a diesel on the back of it becoming portrayed as the a lot more eco-friendly choice.

Although diesels do generate fewer CO2 emissions than petrol engines, the higher levels of particulates they spew out, specifically nitrogen oxide, make them a greater health risk.

This was one thing the Labour government failed to acknowledge when it overhauled car excise duty (VED) to offer cheaper road tax on diesels, meaning individuals had been horribly misinformed and bought into the myth of the eco-friendly diesel engine.

Has Boris got your back?

It will be of little solace to diesel owners that Boris Johnson is sympathetic to their plight. The Mayor of London mentioned: “I really feel sorry for them [diesel drivers]. It is a huge failure of government policy. Millions of people have been told that they were carrying out a decent point by acquiring a diesel vehicle.

“You have got to be reasonable and fair to folks who are purchasing autos now. And they will be extremely aggrieved if they are told they are going to face an added charge to go by way of the centre of London. And you also require to take account of where the business is.”

Discomfort in the gas

Unsurprisingly, the announcement that diesel drivers will sooner or later have to spend to drive in specific regions has not gone down properly with motorists.

A survey of more than 2,000 folks performed by vehicle supermarket, Motorpoint, discovered 3-quarters (75%) of motorists wouldn’t be ready to spend far more in taxes to support nearby authorities meet European clean air targets.

Kevin Pratt, insurance coverage expert at MoneySuperMarket mentioned: “Motoring expenses are higher adequate as it is, so drivers will not welcome any extra expenditures, especially if they have bought a diesel auto in the past due to its supposed eco-friendliness.

“There are lots of methods to reduce the cost of motoring although, not least purchasing about for your auto insurance coverage and adjusting your driving style to save on fuel, and the adjustments in legislation will not take impact for a quantity of years but so there is plenty of time to take into account altering your car.”

What do you make of the London ULEZ proposals? A good idea for cleaner air or just yet another stealth tax? Let us know…

Capital punishment for diesel drivers?