Driver hit with expensive fine from anti-motorist Low Emission Zone despite car being eligible

As with other Clean Air Zones and the London Ultra Low Emission Zone, the aim of the scheme is to reduce pollution rates in the area.

Most of the Low Emission Zones in Scotland have launched, although only one LEZ – Glasgow – has started charging non-compliant vehicles to drive in the city.

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One driver has warned that Glasgow City Council could be profiting off motorists with wrongly issued fines.

The requirement to drive in the LEZ is for petrol engine vehicles to be Euro 4 emissions standards and diesel being Euro 6.

Generally, Euro 4 petrol vehicles were made after 2006, although some vehicles from 2001 onwards are also eligible.

Euro 6 became mandatory for cars and light vans in September 2015, while the emissions standards apply from January 2014 for HGVs and buses.

Any vehicle that does not abide by these rules could be hit with a £60 Penalty Charge Notice when driving inside the charging zone.

A driver has now hit out at the charging scheme after he successfully overturned a wrongly issued fine for his 2005 petrol car and questioned whether other drivers had been stung.

He said: “I was sure my car, which is Euro 4 and meets the emissions standards, was compliant so I checked and it is.

"The council website says that cars are 'generally compliant' if they are 2006 or later. But mine is 2005 and compliant.

“My V5C logbook confirms the car is Euro 4, so I sent that to the council, who then confirmed they were overturning it,” he told the Daily Record.

The council apologised and notified the driver that it would be overturned, as well as advising him to alert Low Emission Zones Scotland and tell them about the error.

The Low Emission Zone uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras which run licence plates through a national database to decide whether to issue a fine or not.

Local residents have a grace period to avoid the charges until June 1, 2024, at which point all people within the zone will face the same restrictions as those living outside.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “Our website is clear that a Euro 4 engine is required for a vehicle to be LEZ compliant.

“The individual in this case has exercised their right to appeal and has provided information that has led to their penalty charge notice being cancelled.

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“If an individual believes a result is incorrect, the vehicle checker website says suitable evidence, such as a VC5 log book, a certificate of conformity or a letter from the vehicle’s manufacturer should be submitted so records can be updated where appropriate.”