No LEZ fines if driver has brought car from abroad

FOREIGN drivers will effectively be exempt from Low Emission Zone (LEZ) rules thanks to a loophole that allows them to escape being fined.

The LEZ scheme started in Glasgow last Thursday, issuing £60 fines to drivers of petrol cars registered before 2006 and pre2015 diesel vehicles.

Its automatic number plate recognition cameras are linked to the database on car ownership held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea.

However, it has not been possible to access the records of other countries, including Ireland, which makes enforcement for any cars registered elsewhere impossible.

This means drivers of some older cars who came over from Ireland for Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden may already have benefited from the loophole.

German tourist Damian Kania, who is on a two-week tour of Scotland with his wife Tina, 51, and their three children in a

‘Too difficult to access information’

2013 Volkswagen diesel people carrier, were in Glasgow city centre on the first day of LEZ restrictions.

Mr Kania, 49, from Munich, said: ‘I had no idea this scheme has been introduced and our car is two years older than the minimum allowed.

‘I am not surprised that foreign drivers are excluded from the scheme. It would be too difficult to access information from all the other countries. We have a similar scheme in Munich but not as strict.’

The loophole means owners of foreignregistered vehicles living in Scotland will also be able to dodge fines.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: ‘All vehicles coming into Glasgow’s LEZ are legally required to meet the emission standards. However, the LEZ enforcement system cannot access emission standard information for foreign-registered vehicles.

‘These vehicles, likely to represent a very small proportion of entrants into Glasgow’s LEZ, will not receive a penalty charge notice at this time.’