Glasgow to fine polluting drivers

The clampdown on polluting vehicles will combine with a high-profile media campaign in an effort to improve air quality in the city.

This Monday, March 12, the city council’s emissions testing unit stepped up its operations to coincide with the launch of £100,000 advertising campaign.

Vehicles will be stopped by a police officer, as local authorities do not have the power to force drivers to pull over, before being council staff test their emissions.

Motorists whose cars fail to meet the standards laid down by the MoT will be issued with a fine of £60 which must be paid within 28 days, unless they can come up with the paperwork to prove they have had the problem fixed in the interim.

Drivers who are spotted leaving the engine running while parked will also be issued with a £20. This is a continuation of a scheme introduced in November 2005 after the council took advice on whether such fines would be legal.

The council’s assistant director for land and environmental services Tommy McDonald said: “It’s everyone’s responsibility to do their bit to improve the environment in the city and that includes the air quality.

“The Council will do what it can to improve things but we need every driver to care enough to ensure the vehicle they are using doesn’t pollute our city’s air.”

Raising awareness of the link between vehicle emissions and air pollution and taking action against offenders are both commitments in Glasgow’s Air Quality Action Plan.

To date the city has issued 120 fines to the drivers of idling vehicles and tested the emissions of 6,192 cars, 211 buses and lorries and 370 taxis. The failure rate is running at 2.39%.

Sam Bond