Harder Times For Motorists On The Way

Wednesday, 21. October 2009

If you drive a car and thought you were being singled out in the past to pay off the National Debt single handed through all the various stealth taxes, you aint seen nuthin yet as the saying goes. As local authorities form a disorderly queue behind Nottingham, the first to announce at work parking, to put forward their own schemes for Government approval, others are looking at ways to screw the motorist. Bonkers Boris has scrapped the £1 per day allowance to fleet drivers and upped the daily rate to £10, although if you are brave enough to pay through the automated system that automatically charges you when you are detected your daily charge will drop to £9 per day. Hmmm! The changes will be introduced by the end of next year. Others are looking at opening hard shoulders on motorways during rush hours or at times of congestion and charging for the privilege, which is a bit of a bugger because some drivers (not me of course) have been doing this for years, just switch on the old hazard warning lights and pretend that your car is rather sick and may blow up if you have to stop the car, hence the reason for scooting along the hard shoulder at 95. Not that I would I’m just saying that some might do that! The latest fear for anyone that travels the M25 is the likely sell off of the Dartford Tunnel and the bridge alongside. Suggestions are that the toll could double if sold off. What with more tax on fuel and road charging, as recommended in the report produced by the Committee on Climate Change, we can expect a great 2010! Happy motoring! By Graham Hill