Half a million drivers to face ban from cities

£60 f ine for breaches of LEZs

HALF a million Scottish motorists face being banned from the country’s four biggest cities in the latest hammer blow to hit car users.

Low Emission Zones (LEZs) are being introduced in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee – enforced with spy cameras and fines.

Analysis suggests up to a fifth of Scotland’s 2.5 million registered vehicles will fall foul of the system, meaning hundreds of thousands of commuters and shoppers face being fined hundreds of pounds unless they abandon their car or buy a new one.

It is the latest in a string of measures hitting drivers in the pocket, including the workplace parking levy, increased fuel charges and increased rollout of bus lane fines.

The LEZs are intended to improve air quality by targeting more polluting vehicles. Diesel cars and vans registered before September 2015 and those with petrol engines registered before 2006 are likely to be non-compliant. Buses and HGVs from before 2013 are also expected to be banned.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras will be set up to enforce the LEZs. Motorists who break the laws could be fined £60 every time they are caught. This is capped at £480 before the fines are re-set and begin again after 90 days.

Aberdeen estimates 30 per cent of light goods vehicles will break the rules. The plans will also disproportionately affect those on lower incomes, who are likely to have older cars.

Enforcement begins in Glasgow next year and in the other three cities the year after. Cars registered to local postcodes in Glasgow will be given a year’s grace until 2024. The city is pressing ahead with the plans even though its own consultation found only 37 per cent of those asked agreed with it.

Creation of Glasgow’s LEZ may lead to an increase in pollution in areas outwith the zone, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Scottish Tory transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: ‘LEZs are set to be the latest financial punishment facing motorists and could have a devastating effect on those reliant on cars as well as city centre businesses. The SNP Green Government are failing to provide enough charging points to support a mass switch to electric vehicles.’

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: ‘Our LEZ is essential to improve air quality and protect public health. A relatively small proportion of vehicles will be directly affected.’

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘Our LEZ Support Fund provides money to help lower income households and small businesses prepare for the introduction.’

‘Latest punishment facing motorists’