I rec'd this e mail and thought it might be of interest as this type of idea has been floated before in the states, but never had much traction. Conceptually, to get all the beaters off the road would be a good idea. The reality is probably that it would be impossible for the Gov't to implement it without it being a raging cluster F#$k, and everyone would be miserable.
The end of Classic Cars?
After midnight last night I heard this dramatic news and have had to rewrite this week’s blog at extremely short notice. However, this seemed so important that it should be the main feature of today’s newsletter.
As you may have already heard by now the EU have passed a new law which was backed by the UK Secretary of State for Transport banning cars over 20 years of age from being driven on the roads.
This will have such a profound impact upon the classic car owners across Europe that this week it seemed inappropriate for me for me to continue in my usual jovial style.
Below is the statement that was given to the commons yesterday to explain the reasoning behind EU Directive 2011/35/T.
‘Having looked at a number of studies, conducted across a wide variety of countries, it becomes clear that cars over 20 years old have far higher CO2 emissions than their contemporary counterparts. Furthermore accidents involving pedestrians and motorists more likely to lead to a fatality in cars over 20 years old than in cars produced since 2008.
It would be remiss of the European Union not to consider both the environmental and human costs that older vehicles present to the public. This decision will no doubt be vilified by motoring organisations as a curtailment of motorists freedoms, however looking at the statistics there was simply no way in good conscience, we could not act.’
This is obviously not going to come into effect immediately and is set to begin from the 1st of April 2013 so there is time for people to comply. So far the Department for Transport has not addressed the specific concerns of classic car enthusiasts but one would imagine they will need to fairly quickly as this is going to have serious consequences for many businesses as well as enthusiasts.
The act doesn’t mean it will be impossible to own or drive a car over 20 years of age but rather that the rules governing it will become much stricter.
In future anyone wishing to keep a car over 20 years of age will have to register the car as off road permanently and will then need to apply for a special license to drive the car to events. This licence will need to be applied for three months before attending any event and a maximum of 5 licenses will be granted per year.
It is not yet clear what this will mean for people competing in motor sporting fixtures or whether the licenses will be granted per car or per person.
Rather outrageously the DfT spokesperson I spoke to claimed this would not make a big difference to the classic car scene and that they were rather more concerned that low income families who owned older cars were able to replace their aging vehicle with no additional financial outlay.
I’m sure I will be writing more about this at a later date as I imagine the classic car world will be abuzz with little else for the next two years.
I have included a link below to a website with full details on EU Directive 2011/35/T. Anyone wishing to buy a copy of the directive for £20 can do so with a credit card but please check that it expires at noon on 1st April 2011.
More details to follow as soon as I have them.
Phil Cooper
philcooper@classiccarsforsale.co.uk
... Read Full Story >
The end of Classic Cars?
After midnight last night I heard this dramatic news and have had to rewrite this week’s blog at extremely short notice. However, this seemed so important that it should be the main feature of today’s newsletter.
As you may have already heard by now the EU have passed a new law which was backed by the UK Secretary of State for Transport banning cars over 20 years of age from being driven on the roads.
This will have such a profound impact upon the classic car owners across Europe that this week it seemed inappropriate for me for me to continue in my usual jovial style.
Below is the statement that was given to the commons yesterday to explain the reasoning behind EU Directive 2011/35/T.
‘Having looked at a number of studies, conducted across a wide variety of countries, it becomes clear that cars over 20 years old have far higher CO2 emissions than their contemporary counterparts. Furthermore accidents involving pedestrians and motorists more likely to lead to a fatality in cars over 20 years old than in cars produced since 2008.
It would be remiss of the European Union not to consider both the environmental and human costs that older vehicles present to the public. This decision will no doubt be vilified by motoring organisations as a curtailment of motorists freedoms, however looking at the statistics there was simply no way in good conscience, we could not act.’
This is obviously not going to come into effect immediately and is set to begin from the 1st of April 2013 so there is time for people to comply. So far the Department for Transport has not addressed the specific concerns of classic car enthusiasts but one would imagine they will need to fairly quickly as this is going to have serious consequences for many businesses as well as enthusiasts.
The act doesn’t mean it will be impossible to own or drive a car over 20 years of age but rather that the rules governing it will become much stricter.
In future anyone wishing to keep a car over 20 years of age will have to register the car as off road permanently and will then need to apply for a special license to drive the car to events. This licence will need to be applied for three months before attending any event and a maximum of 5 licenses will be granted per year.
It is not yet clear what this will mean for people competing in motor sporting fixtures or whether the licenses will be granted per car or per person.
Rather outrageously the DfT spokesperson I spoke to claimed this would not make a big difference to the classic car scene and that they were rather more concerned that low income families who owned older cars were able to replace their aging vehicle with no additional financial outlay.
I’m sure I will be writing more about this at a later date as I imagine the classic car world will be abuzz with little else for the next two years.
I have included a link below to a website with full details on EU Directive 2011/35/T. Anyone wishing to buy a copy of the directive for £20 can do so with a credit card but please check that it expires at noon on 1st April 2011.
More details to follow as soon as I have them.
Phil Cooper
philcooper@classiccarsforsale.co.uk
... Read Full Story >
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