Increased Taxes, More Speed Cameras for UK Motorists

Driving a car may become very expensive in the not so distant future, and we are not talking fuel (or electricity, for that matter) prices alone. The UK government's climate change committee is reportedly planning to propose a national road pricing system and increased fuel and vehicles duty.

According to Piston Heads, the committee is trying by doing this to meet the planned fuel and CO2 reductions, which call for at most 95 g/km in the following years.

"It is sometimes argued that if road pricing were to be introduced this would have to be offset by a reduction in fuel duty," the committee says in a report, quoted by the source.

"From a carbon perspective, however, this would result in increased emissions. From an emissions perspective, therefore, road pricing should be introduced as a complement to fuel duty rather than a substitute."

Provided you can get passed all the taxes and still afford a trip from London to Manchester, you should really be aware of the already dreaded speed cameras. The aforementioned body says in the report that the number of speed cameras now in use should be increased, not to catch more drivers "in the act," but to achieve the same fuel and emission goals. According to their findings, driving at 60 mph should be both enough and healthy for the trees.

The committee's plan also states that the UK should have 3.9 million drivers trained to drive eco-friendly by 2020 (how will take keep track on who is and who is not trained is still a mystery). Five years earlier, in 2015, the UK should also have at least 240,000 EVs and PHEVs on the streets. In 2020, that number should reach 1.7 million...