Here is a quick question – if it’s crucially important to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the United Kingdom, would it be a sound idea to totally and completely ban old cars from all UK roads?

It is a debate that has been raging for quite some time now – not least since Boris Johnson himself in his capacity as London mayor expressed the radical idea to ban diesel cars altogether. A little bit more recently, the rather unpleasant VW emissions scandal once again called into question the issue of so many cars on the roads pumping out higher quantities of unhealthy gases than is considered acceptable. 

But here lies the issue as what VW has conclusively proven is the way there is simply no point in pointing the finger of blame at every single old car on the market, as there are so many newer cars doing far more damage than their older counterparts. Indeed, research suggest that around 50,000 adults each year lose their lives to living conditions that are in some way or another caused or associated with excessive or aggravated car emissions, so whichever way we look at it there is clearly a very serious problem to address.

Nonetheless, it is not a problem that is going to disappear simply by punishing everyone who has a car older than fifteen years, for instance. Instead, common sense should dictate that it will make much more sense to go after the very worst offenders – but sadly this wouldn’t be nearly as simple for UK lawmakers as rolling out a ban on older cars.

Try to think of it this way – it is one thing to force the public to scrap old cars that have not been looked after and are health hazards, but what about classic cars owners who have meticulously taken care of their vehicles and spent a fortune on keeping them as green and clean as possible? Should the two be treated the same way? Or will it be necessary to create a number of complicated exceptions?

And the same will also be true for people who don’t need anything larger than a Smart car and who could most likely get by with no car at all, yet still insist on driving ultra-inefficient sports cars and gas-guzzling off-road vehicles. There is technically no justification for such people to drive these kinds of vehicles and contribute to the problem, so shouldn’t they be forced to give up their cars as well?

 

Incentives and grants are one thing, but when one considers the fact that such a big chunk of the population still struggles to heat their homes each winter, it is again an idea which simply is not going to work on a broad scale.