If Your Car Was Built Before 1997, You Won't Be Able To Drive In Paris
The French capital’s issues with pollution have been well documented, as have the city’s attempts to deal with it. A couple of years ago there was a bizarre experimental system coming into play where you’d only be allowed to drive on particular days based on the number your registration plate starts with, and there’s also been the creation of more pedestrian-only zones. But the latest move is the most drastic: starting 1 July, any cars registered before 1997 will be banned from the city centre on weekdays, along with motorbikes built before 1999.
Ignore the ban, and you’re looking at a €35 fine, rising to €78 at the start of 2017. The cars affected are thought to make up about 10 per cent of the capital’s cars, but given advances in emissions controls over the years, that could amount to a big reduction in smog. The measures are set to get a lot more drastic too: from 2020, Paris will ban any vehicle registered before 2010 from entering the city centre.
With pollution levels in Paris among the worst across Europe drastic measures are needed, but the move won’t be popular, particularly as it’ll penalise poorer motorists unable to afford a car new enough to escape the pre-1997 ban and the eventual pre-2010 ban.
Comments
So my 90 bhp, less than one tonne Peugeot won’t be allowed in Paris, but a Rolls Royce Phantom will, because that’s how you deal with emissions.
So I can drive this legally but can’t drive an old Austin Mini
Up and up you go!
A H2 were a better example, but still makes no sense.
Well, there goes your cable bill…
The H2 will likely have better emissions. It’s a gas guzzler but it still needs to pass modern emissions, unlike an older Mini. I may be wrong. The whole point is that emissions tech has improved over the years so it would stand to reason that an H3 could possibly have better emissions than an older Mini. In the majority of the US any vehicle more than 24 years old (pre-96) doesn’t need to pass emissions because the car would likely fail. But again, I could be wrong.
In Lisbon you can’t drive pre-2000 cars.
So you can’t drive a old Mini Cooper because it’s old. That’s like banning all old people from buying hard candy.
Just like in the Philippines where they ban well-maintained cars which are 15 years old and above on weekdays but still allow these dirty craps on the road. #genius
B*llshit IMO just another government saying “ooh give me some money$”
How would stopping people from driving in Paris give the government money? Sure there are fines but they’re so insignificant.
I like this idea!
It’s a good time for surrounding city petrol-heads to go buy themselves a 1996 car…
This is ridiculous. There were environment-friendly cars in the early 90s already and there are carbon monooxide projectors built after 1997. The cars should be banned based off their CO, NOx and particulates emissions, not their production year.
It is much easier to determine a car by its age than its emissions tho. So from a practical standpoint this makes sense. Also living in Paris I can tell you it’s definitely not a bad thing to reduce traffic even by a bit. I do agree that this measure is quite arbitrary though.
Mu car is 1997, so I lucked out right? Also f_ck this stupid law.