Motor Lawyers Blog – Motoring News

On Monday 4 February 2008, the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) will come into force in greater London.  Supported by a database, new signage and static/mobile surveillance cameras, the scheme checks all lorries in excess of 12 tonnes to ensure that they comply with the EU emission requirements.

The system is enforced by checking vehicle registrations against a database of compatible vehicles based primarily on year of manufacture.  At present, all lorries made after October 2001 automatically comply with the EU standards of particulate emissions of 0.05g per km.  Some older vehicles can be adapted to comply with the rules, although in general terms, this is unlikely to be cost effective for lorries manufactured before 1997.  Those who do not comply, based on the fact that they do not appear on the database, will initially be given a warning letter for a first offence but thereafter a set charge of £200 is imposed which rises to £1,000 if it is not paid by midnight the following day. 

Despite the recent installation of signage and cameras, and a publicity campaign by Transport for London, there appears to be general confusion over the rules, which vehicles are compatible and need to be registered and general compliance.  As a direct result, there is a 28 day lead-in period but from the 3 March 2008, the legislation will be vigorously enforced.

Unlike the congestion charge zone, the LEZ covers a much wider area (roughly inside the M25) and further, is enforced 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Whilst at present it relates only to lorries in excess of 12 tonnes, in due course, it will be rolled out to cover all commercial vehicles and eventually mini buses and caravans by 2010.

Daily Charge
£200 for lorries, buses and coaches, and £100 for heavy vans and minibuses, which do not meet the emissions standards.

Penalties and Enforcements

Transport for London - Low Emission Zone:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/lez/default.aspx

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A computer glitch at the DVLA has resulted in thousands of online road fund licence renewals being delayed. Whilst a four day turnaround is promised, many motorists are now being told that it could be 14 days before their tax disc is received. What’s more, the DVLA continues its “no exceptions, no excuses and no escape” approach for untaxed vehicles, with the result that all drivers still awaiting the arrival of their tax disc have been warned not only to not use their vehicle but to remove it from the road as well.

This seems particularly harsh, given that renewals were requested before the old tax disc expired, but to the letter of the law, if there is no current vehicle tax displayed, the DVLA are right and the vehicle should not be on the road. Potential penalties include a fine but the DVLA do have the power to:

1. Wheel clamp vehicles (incurring the motorist in a £200 release fee).
2. To remove the vehicle from the road (£280 release fee) plus £15 per day storage.
3. After 14 days impounded vehicles can be crushed, if not claimed.

Under current rules, if a current tax disc is produced, the DVLA only have to refund £120 of the release fee.

Motorists who have no alternative but to keep their vehicle on the road, can obtain a tax disc immediately from the Post Office and cancel their online renewal.

Related Legal Link
Vehicle Tax

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The Metropolitan Police Traffic Unit are to train borough police officers to detect and seize uninsured vehicles.  As with most experiments, other cities are due to follow shortly.

Owners of uninsured vehicles face having their vehicles impounded, a fine of up to £120 and 6 penalty points imposed on their driving licence.  If caught driving without insurance, a driver faces between 6–8 penalty points and a fine up to £5,000, although in certain circumstances an instant driving ban will be imposed.

Over the last few years, Motor Lawyers  have noticed a dramatic increase in motorists needing assistance for insurance offences.  Whereas previously the Police may even have been prepared to “overlook” an error, there is now a much tougher approach, bordering on zero tolerance.  Certainly, statistics show that uninsured motorists are likely to commit further offences, hence the clamp down, but there has also been a sharp rise in cases where drivers genuinely believed they were insured.

Detection rates have increased because all the insurers now supply information to a central database and this is much more up to date than in previous years.  Secondly, the Police now have immediate access to that information and superior equipment on Police vehicles will automatically identify an uninsured car, without the officer having to make an enquiry.

Motorists who have been stopped for any offence will now routinely have their insurance details checked at the roadside as opposed to being asked to produce documents within 7 days.  With facilities to remove vehicles immediately, there is no longer any need for the Police to show discretion.  This is particularly relevant for the motorist who has committed the offence in ignorance, normally because they assumed that their comprehensive policy extended to driving other cars, or they believed that their own policy was subject to automatic renewal, only to find out that it has been cancelled.

It is clear that in order to offer competitive premiums, insurers have been cutting back on the benefits previously regarded as automatic in a comprehensive policy, with the result that driving other cars extensions are now an “optional extra”, available for an additional premium, as opposed to part and parcel of a standard policy.  Likewise, automatic renewals are not as common as they once were, with the onus upon the driver to specifically request that cover be continued as opposed to assuming that it has been renewed annually, as it would have been the case in the past.  Even when cover has been obtained, drivers who miss one direct debit will have a rude awakening, as the policy may be cancelled immediately, whereas before, insurers were rather more tolerant, often sending several reminders.

There is a clear message to the motorist, which is the onus is firmly upon them to be 100% certain that the insurance policy is in place, is paid for, and covers the vehicle being used before the vehicle is even parked on the road, let alone driven!

Related Legal Link
Driving Uninsured

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Motor Lawyers would like to take this opportunity to wish all our clients and visitors to our website a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2008.

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