Fury as Scotland's first Low Emission Zone is imposed on Glasgow and could see ... trends now
Thousands of drivers risk punishing fines if they travel into Glasgow city centre from today as the SNP ramps up its war on motorists.
Cars, vans, buses and lorries could be slapped with fines of £60 if they fall foul of strict new environmental rules.
Scotland's first Low Emission Zone (LEZ) – which bans older vehicles from the city's roads – was given the green light yesterday despite a last-ditch court bid to stop it.
It means more than 730,000 vehicles registered in Scotland are not 'green' enough to enter the zone unpunished.
Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are due to follow suit with their own LEZs in June next year.
Thousands of drivers risk punishing fines if they travel into Glasgow city centre from today as the SNP ramps up its war on motorists
Cars, vans, buses and lorries in Glasgow could be slapped with fines of £60 if they fall foul of strict new environmental rules
Brian Gregory, of the Alliance of British Drivers, said: 'People are in for a shock when the LEZs come into force. Thousands of drivers will need to sell their car and buy a new one or face huge fines. How is this good for the environment?'
Luke Bosdet, of the AA's motoring policy unit, said: 'Council projections on affected vehicles underestimate the impact this policy will have. In some parts of the Birmingham clean air zone, 44 per cent of cars were non-compliant.
'Most residents have little or no chance of affording a replacement.'
The driving crackdown will affect owners of most diesel vehicles registered before September 2015 and petrol vehicles registered before 2006.
Spy cameras will read the number plates of every vehicle entering the LEZ, which covers most of the city centre.
Drivers of banned cars will then be slapped with £60 fines if they enter the LEZ, cut to £30 if paid in a fortnight.
Penalty charges will then double for every subsequent day a driver enters the restricted area in a 90-day period, with total fines capped at £480.
The latest DVLA figures show there are 513,914 diesel vehicles and 218,481 petrol cars that face being banned from the LEZ.
SNP-run Glasgow Council claimed the drastic measures are necessary because air pollution in the city centre has long been above the legal requirement for 'green' environmental targets.
Scotland's first Low Emission Zone (LEZ) – which bans older vehicles from the city's roads – was given the green light yesterday despite a last-ditch court bid to stop it
But Steven Grant, Unite Glasgow cab section secretary, argued the electrification of buses – which the council said was responsible for 70 per cent of the limit-breaking emissions – has brought pollution well below the legal threshold. He said: 'This damaging and punitive plan is going to be devastating for our trade, without a shadow of a doubt.
'Frustrated taxi drivers are asking, 'Why are we being punished when the air monitoring shows Glasgow is now below the legal threshold?'
It is believed that 300 taxi drivers have not applied for a year-long exemption, but Mr Grant said it is merely a 'stay of execution' for hundreds of cabbies.
More than half of the city's 1,421 black cabs do not comply with LEZ requirements so will be forced off the road in the next year.
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: 'The practical concerns of local businesses and communities have been ignored by the SNP and their Green allies. We all want to see a reduction in pollution and to meet environmental targets, but
