Almost 3000 Low Emission Zone fines issued in Glasgow in first month

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Almost 3000 fines were handed out to drivers in Glasgow who breached the city's Low Emission Zones (LEZ) in the first month of enforcement.

Figures released by Glasgow City Council show that there were 2,922 penalty charge notices handed out in June. The fines are set at £60 but can be reduced by 50 per cent if they are paid within 14 days of being issued, reports Glasgow Live.The council say that a “period of familiarisation” meant drivers only received one fine in June.

But from July onwards surcharging has been introduced, meaning the fine will now double each time a motorist breaches the LEZ.

It will start after the first penalty charge can “be expected to have been received by the vehicle’s registered keeper”. Fines can increase up to a whopping £480 for cars and £960 for buses and HGVs.The zones were introduced in an attempt to improve air pollution in Glasgow city centre and covers a vast area, from the M8 motorway to the north and west, the River Clyde to the south and Saltmarket/High Street to the east.Phase one of the scheme was rolled out for buses in December 2018, with phase two, for all vehicles, brought in on June 1 this year.A council spokesman said: “Glasgow’s plan to phase in a Low Emission Zone was announced in 2018 to address decades of harmful air pollution in the city centre.“Since then there has been extensive communications and engagement to raise awareness of the scheme, its time-scale for introduction and the availability of funding to support compliance.“While up to 90% of vehicles currently entering the city centre will be unaffected, LEZ standards will address the most polluting vehicles which are disproportionately creating the harmful concentrations of air pollution in the city centre.”Ge