The FTA has called on TfL to do more to level the playing field for compliant UK operators after it was revealed that more than half of the fines issued to non-UK registered vehicles for breaching the conditions of the London Low Emission Zone remain outstanding.
According to figures obtained by MotorTransport.co.uk via a Freedom of Information request, 21,588 PCNs were issued to non-UK registered vehicles between 1 January 2014 and 30 June 2015 for either running a Euro-1, Euro-2 or Euro-3 vans, HGVs and PSVs in the zone or failing to register to pay a daily charge if they do.
Of those PCNs issued, 11,801 – 55% – are yet to be paid. In monetary terms £21.6m of PCNs have been issued to HGVs registered outside of the UK, and of this approximately £11.9m remains unpaid. TfL was unable to break down the figures further.
Natalie Chapman, the FTA’s head of policy for London, said: “We are not surprised, but we are a little bit disappointed. We’d like to see more being done, but we understand the constraints, for TfL or anyone – it is not an easy thing to implore.
“This is a big frustration because if you are going to have a system of rules or legislation then it should apply to all vehicles wherever they are based. Just because they are not from the UK does not mean they should get away with it. It creates an unlevel playing field.”
Chapman added that she would like to see public bodies such as TfL using the data made available by the HGV road user levy to keep closer tabs on non-UK operators using London roads.
“This would be a really good potential benefit from the road user levy, that we now do have great information about who is coming in and where they are based,” she said.
A TfL spokesman said: “Recovering unpaid penalties incurred by vehicles registered outside the UK can be problematic and is a well-known issue for traffic authorities such as TfL.
Nevertheless, we work hard with our European debt recovery agency to recover penalties in relation to non-UK registered vehicles where it is possible to do so.”
