LEZ (Low emission Zone London) warning

[wuvvum]

What winds me up more is that the "powers that be" rarely seem to consider things on an individual basis - that old D-reg truck going into London could be delivering produce from a farm in a nearby county, but will get hit with charges for being a polluting vehicle unless they pull out some money and get a new truck, which they may not be able to afford and certainly don't need, as the truck they have doesn't do many miles and has loads of life left in it. However, a newer truck delivering the same kind of produce from some large corporation much further away will be exempt from the charges, even though it produces more pollution overall on account of it taking the same sorts of goods a considerably longer distance.

What I would do if I were that Home Counties farmer would be to purchase a decrepit 1972 (so LEZ exempt) Bedford TK, and then run it on 25% used engine oil to get the emissions and smoke levels up as far as possible. Then sit outside TfL's offices revving the knackers off it.

[gtd2000]

Can you? Not when every single electable smarm-twunt is on the 'environment' bandwagon you can't.

You need to talk to somebody French they will give you tips on how to make some "noise"In the UK the only thing we are good at is fighting each other and other peoples wars - not good at fighting for ourselves.I took the easy route many moons ago...hence my location

[gtd2000]

What winds me up more is that the "powers that be" rarely seem to consider things on an individual basis - that old D-reg truck going into London could be delivering produce from a farm in a nearby county, but will get hit with charges for being a polluting vehicle unless they pull out some money and get a new truck, which they may not be able to afford and certainly don't need, as the truck they have doesn't do many miles and has loads of life left in it. However, a newer truck delivering the same kind of produce from some large corporation much further away will be exempt from the charges, even though it produces more pollution overall on account of it taking the same sorts of goods a considerably longer distance.

See that's the problem - it's not really about saving the environment by aggregate.It's about charging you up the wazoo, supposedly on behalf of the environment.

[Mash]

Remarkably I've only ever had to drive in the immediate vicinity of the middle of London once in my life which was earlier this year on a trip to see a customer in Mitcham and then back out on the A40 via another.What a total f***ing nightmare of a day. Never again. How anyone deals with that day in, day out is beyond me. I'll stick to being semi-rural thankyou.

[bigstraight6]

Remarkably I've only ever had to drive in the immediate vicinity of the middle of London once in my life which was earlier this year on a trip to see a customer in Mitcham and then back out on the A40 via another.What a total f***ing nightmare of a day. Never again. How anyone deals with that day in, day out is beyond me. I'll stick to being semi-rural thankyou.

Driving in or around the London area is not a pleasant experience, I had the misfortune to do so last Monday when I went to Heathrow, it seems that drivers in the area have no time or respect for anyone else on the Road, and some of the driving I witnessed made me wonder if some of these individuals actually hold a driving licence! That LEZ thing sucks to, London is a shit place, rather akin nowadays to a tacky theme park...

[nigel bickle]

Sadly, I'm in there about 2 or 3 times a month. I ride a big white BMW, white skidlid and bright dayglo jacket - people just seem to pull over for me. Cant think why -but very much appreciated.London always was bad -but is now a total nightmare. The thought of piloting a car through, parking and visiting clients fills me with terror. Its a hideous place to travel -made substantially worse by Political gerry-mandering. Ken Livingstones traffic light nonsense was never fully reversed, exacerbated by hideous traffic & parking regs.I strongly recommend you avoid it -if you can.

[seth]

Can I defend my home a little bit?

 

Its a big help that I rarely have to get anywhere at any particular time. This means if I choose a time and route well I can avoid most/all traffic. It is possble to drive around London in a calm, swift manner but you have to know where your going and the various route possibilites and change tact if need be.

 

I appreciate this is not helpful to outsiders. I guess driving here is what it is and you can't expect such a densly populated place to be as easy to drive round as the flatlands. You also just have to assume everyone will drive badly and not be surprised or annoyed when it happens.

 

It can be a blast. The amount of cars on the road does not mean it is a shit place to be.

 

 

[pogweasel]

 

It can be a blast. The amount of cars on the road does not mean it is a shit place to be.

 

 

He's right you know.

 

Having spent several years trolling up and down to the smoke, it's not ALL bad. Granted, mornings are particularly grim, but I used to make most of my journeys at night for 'engineering hours' down the tube. Which meant starting at midnight and having to be clear by 6am latest. Meaning blezzing round town when most 'sensible' folk are asleep. Particularly memorable is a 2nd gear razz round parliament square getting the old 3-series very sideways at each corner. London = GR8 4 DRFTN.

 

That said, my journey down the other week resulted in another £60 fine for managing to be in a bus lane for 10 seconds. GAH.

[TheScrapman]

 

I was about to say that must be early am on Dec 25th, but I guess the photo being named 'XmasDay0311.jpg' is probably a clue...

[seth]

I was about to say that must be early am on Dec 25th, but I guess the photo being named 'XmasDay0311.jpg' is probably a clue...

Yeah, its kinda become a tradition Though it is much busier these days than it was say 10 years ago

 

This is some very definitely not-shite spotted on The Mall another year.

 

[M'coli]

The vehicle details for 1 SWB are:Date of Liability 01 05 2009Date of First Registration 01 11 1966Year of Manufacture Not AvailableCylinder Capacity (cc) 2953CCCO2 Emissions Not AvailableFuel Type PetrolExport Marker Not ApplicableVehicle Status SORN Not DueVehicle Colour BLUEVehicle Type Approval nullExpect to see it this year then!