Speed limits to stay as they are
Roads minister Dr Stephen Layman has ruled out the draconian suggestions of a committee of MPs that could have seen both vehicle excise duty rise almost tenfold, and the blanket enforcement of speed limits. The general thrust of a report, released today by the Environmental Audit Committee, was that people should pay more for transport because it damages the environment.
Questioned on the BBC's Radio 4's Today programme this morning about the environmental impact of high motorway speeds, he said that it wouldn't be popular to rigidly enforce or even lower motorway limits on environmental grounds. "Motorists wouldn't accept it", he said, "so we would rather use our limited resources to improve safety."
The committee also suggested that those who drive vehicles with higher fuel consumption should pay a lot more -- £1,800 -- for their tax discs. Ladyman pointed out three times that people who drive high consumption vehicles already pay thousands more in fuel tax, and that loading yet more costs would not necessarily be a deterrent. He therefore couldn't see the point of raising the annual tax disc's price for those vehicles. "Those people already pay more for their tax discs anyway", he said.
The discussion then went on to talk about aviation, where Ladyman again ruled out loading costs onto airlines or the price of passengers' tickets via the tax weapon. Instead, he reckoned that the EU's existing emissions trading scheme was more effective in persuading airlines to use more efficient aeroplanes.
Is this the beginning of the end of the government's war on motorists?
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