So on first thoughts I did think that this was some form of joke, alas April Fools was 8 months ago, so it was not that. But it transpires that Doctors are calling for a ban on Diesel engines in London as, it is claimed, 9,400 people die in the UK capital as a result of the pollution.
Other cities around the world are aiming for a ban on the are Paris, Athens and Mexico city by 2025.
This would be a huge shift and in the bigger scheme of things would create chaos.
The main issue is really overcrowding of the road infrastructure that is causing vehicles to remain stationary for long periods of time. The arteries of the capital have essentially become clogged up!
So the action is to ban the diesel engine!
Well how do we expect the commuters to London, who don't like the train, get to work. Oh they can use petrol cars. Well that sounds great initially but nigh on impossible to do due to our reliance on the diesel engine with it being fitted in almost 50% of cars now on the roads being diesels.
But let me get one point, out of the way first.....
So the government is going to tax a person for buying a car, tax them on the fuel, tax them for driving it, tax them for insuring it but then say 'oh but you can't drive it to work as its banned', sounds almost like fraud/theft to me.
Also how do you then figure out the commercial vehicles such as large vans, lorries and tractor units? There are practical reasons for these being diesel engines due to their performance characteristics so there would need to be some exemptions. This would in my mind create a mine field of issues due to types of vehicles, engine sizes, usage.
Here is an example.
Sales Director of Best Haulage company. His vehicle is an Audi A6 3.0TDI Estate
Is he exempt? His company would easily meet a criteria of exemption if it were done at company level and his car is a 'company' car.
Ok so he can't be exempt as he is using his car? But if he is using his car for transporting items, albeit it is unlikely, for a client where it would be impractical to use a larger vehicle what happens then? The car is more than able to transport a larger boxed item. You see where I am going with this?
Diesel vehicles will become more expensive and their used prices will nose dive, what is the point of having a vehicle that will be banned in most cities.
There is an easier solution to this if they wish to quickly cut the emissions and that is to work from home. I am sure there are thousands of individuals that can easily conduct their day to day business from the comfort of their living room, essentially that is what I am doing right now! I've conducted meeting via conference calls across the world in my careers all of which has reduced the need for travel.
Now if you have got to this stage and your blood is boiling as you agree that there should be a reduction or ban on vehicles such as diesel I am about to throw a spanner at you. I think all fosil fuel driven vehicles should be phased out.
You see by implementing a ban carries bad feelings. It is restricting the right to free movement in the mode of transport you wish. However if you were to have a gradual transition over to greener technologies, incentives for doing so, drive volumes which in turn reduce pricing this would be good thing. If we recall there was a scrapage incentive for older cars for a new one. Why can't this be implemented for all electric vehicles?
So the action is to ban the diesel engine!
Well how do we expect the commuters to London, who don't like the train, get to work. Oh they can use petrol cars. Well that sounds great initially but nigh on impossible to do due to our reliance on the diesel engine with it being fitted in almost 50% of cars now on the roads being diesels.
But let me get one point, out of the way first.....
So the government is going to tax a person for buying a car, tax them on the fuel, tax them for driving it, tax them for insuring it but then say 'oh but you can't drive it to work as its banned', sounds almost like fraud/theft to me.
Also how do you then figure out the commercial vehicles such as large vans, lorries and tractor units? There are practical reasons for these being diesel engines due to their performance characteristics so there would need to be some exemptions. This would in my mind create a mine field of issues due to types of vehicles, engine sizes, usage.
Here is an example.
Sales Director of Best Haulage company. His vehicle is an Audi A6 3.0TDI Estate
Is he exempt? His company would easily meet a criteria of exemption if it were done at company level and his car is a 'company' car.
Ok so he can't be exempt as he is using his car? But if he is using his car for transporting items, albeit it is unlikely, for a client where it would be impractical to use a larger vehicle what happens then? The car is more than able to transport a larger boxed item. You see where I am going with this?
Diesel vehicles will become more expensive and their used prices will nose dive, what is the point of having a vehicle that will be banned in most cities.
There is an easier solution to this if they wish to quickly cut the emissions and that is to work from home. I am sure there are thousands of individuals that can easily conduct their day to day business from the comfort of their living room, essentially that is what I am doing right now! I've conducted meeting via conference calls across the world in my careers all of which has reduced the need for travel.
Now if you have got to this stage and your blood is boiling as you agree that there should be a reduction or ban on vehicles such as diesel I am about to throw a spanner at you. I think all fosil fuel driven vehicles should be phased out.
You see by implementing a ban carries bad feelings. It is restricting the right to free movement in the mode of transport you wish. However if you were to have a gradual transition over to greener technologies, incentives for doing so, drive volumes which in turn reduce pricing this would be good thing. If we recall there was a scrapage incentive for older cars for a new one. Why can't this be implemented for all electric vehicles?
