Apparently proposals are being reviewed to ban most pre 1996 cars and all pre 1992 cars from Edinburgh City Centre as they do not meet current emission standards. This will obviously be enforced through (yes you have guessed it - fines)
It strikes me that that there cannot be many of these vehicles left on the road and therefore their impact on emissions must be quite small and getting smaller every year as more and more of these vehicles are scrapped. I would personally never drive a Classic car myself (too much hassle) but I do like seeing the old cars still around and I do appreciate the enormous effort their owners must put in.
Is this just another new tax or will it really help emissions in the longer term.
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Since most emmisions are generated by building new cars it's fairly short sighted. How you define too much hassle driving a classic I have no idea, my daily driver is a '87 Porsche 944 I also own a '80 TR7 V8.
Just another kneejerk reaction by people who haven't got the foggiest idea of what they talk about.
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A revenue raising exercise by a typically clueless local authority.
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The word proposal comes to the fore and is subject is open to discussion.
My personal view would be that it would probably be illegal to ban certain vehicles due to emmisions that are legally permitted to be on the road. Taking this suggestion further then surely Edinburgh City Centre should provide a complimentary vehicle that meets the emission requirements, preferably electric with zero emmissions. They will also have to provide large parking areas that are secure whilst the owners are using their electric car. Doing this would certainly make them look green.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Has someone a link for this? The proposal sounds odd to me. I'm sure a lot of people in Edinburgh have pre-1992 cars, and I can't see a Labour run council passing a measure that so obviously discriminates against the less well off.
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I have had a quick rummage round the council & SESTrans websites but cant find a link. As an Edinburgh resident this is the first I have heard of this so??
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It will be graded congestion charging as seen in London. Edinburgh is already poised to be an early adopter of Labour's 'visiting town' penalty.
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Found a link - news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=235&id=1931892006 .
The council hasnt done this but "is monitoring a pioneering scheme in Stuttgart, Germany,". Apparently "Although the ban will not involve checkpoints such as those used in London's Congestion Zone scheme, traffic police will have powers to check and fine drivers with old and polluting cars, unless they can prove their vehicles have been specially modified to comply with the latest emission standards." So another task for the polis.
If there is a change in the colour of the council at the May elections things may change anyway.
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Thanks for the link, Tony.
"unless they can prove their vehicles have been specially modified to comply with the latest emission standards" seems to be the key phrase. What modification will be necessary, and, more to the point, how much will it cost?
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Can they actually, legally, ban certain cars from using a public highway in this way? I know that certain areas can be designated pedestrian precincts, etc, but if someone has an old but perfectly road legal vehicle can a council stop them from using the road?
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Below says it all.
and laws were most numerous when the commonwealth was most corrupt. Tacitus, Annals
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Can they actually, legally, ban certain cars from using a public highway in this way? I know that certain areas can be designated pedestrian precincts, etc, but if someone has an old but perfectly road legal vehicle can a council stop them from using the road?
I think they can probably do anything they like. Horse traffic was banned from central London in the 1920s on environmental grounds - mounds of horse dung everywhere, removed at enormous public expense, and clouds of pongy dust in hot weather.
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In Germany, it is/was possible to retrofit catalytic convertors to elderly cars. I believe there was a grant available for this.
I visited edinburrow many years ago. Filthy place full of junkies, drug dealers, foul black buildings and touristy types.
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> Filthy place full of junkies, drug dealers, foul black buildings and touristy types.
You forgot vomiting jocks.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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>You forgot vomiting jocks.
I was trying not to be too obnoxious, what with the New Year and everything. But now that you mention it ....
8< Needless tirade about drunken scotchmen removed 8<
That's quite enough of that. PG
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It will be graded congestion charging
IIRC the voters of Edinburgh rejected congestion charging in a recent referendum. So the politicians or civil servants are still pursuing their agenda even though the public do not want it. What's new?
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Load of rubbish that won't come to anything.
As for modifying cars, I'm not prepared to sacrifice a few more precious horses by adding a second choke, to the exhaust, thank you very much :-)
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Mike Farrow
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Sounds good to me. About time 1991 Vauxhall Astra's stopped spoiling the scenery anyway ;)
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Absolutely ridiculous - whats so annoying is that if you choose not to use your car to get out of Edinburgh, you have to wait for your train in waverley station where theres a long queue of taxis all with their engines running belching out diesel smoke in an enclosed space. (And there's a 50 pound penalty for anyone who dares to smoke a cig in there!!)
Incidentally they've also just recently introduced a ban on drinking alcohol in parks - oh but wait its ok, because according to the local rag lothian and borders police have said they will only use it to control people who are 'causing a problem'.... American tourist in the park can sip away, while the poor guy who's being shaken down for something else gets another fixed penalty for the 500ml mineral water bottle full of voddy and buckfast thats keeping him warm.
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Since most emmisions are generated by building new cars it's fairly short sighted. How you define too much hassle driving a classic I have no idea, my daily driver is a '87 Porsche 944 I also own a '80 TR7 V8. Just another kneejerk reaction by people who haven't got the foggiest idea of what they talk about.
I think this a slight overstatement. Every time I read an article on classic cars or watch a programme on them, I learn of the huge investment the owners make in terms of time and money. I also cannot believe that the reliability of most Classic Cars is on a par with modern vehicles as they were not that reliable when new. I am old enough to remember my parents owning vehicles that are now "Classics". There was a 1969 MKII Cortina 1600E (which was a reasonably desirable car in those days), which had so many problems, particularly electrical, that when they sold it in 1973, they never bought a Ford again. This view was not helped by the Ford Zodiac they owned up to 1969, which apparently was even more unreliable.
You may be creating a generalisation from your own good fortune to date.
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