Are Dundee motorists risking fines as LEZ changes city driving?

It seems most Dundee motorists are abiding to the rules when it comes to the city’s new emissions restrictions.

A Low Emission Zone (LEZ) became legally enforceable in the city last Thursday.

Dundee City Council’s LEZ impact assessment estimates that 12% of cars are now banned from the city centre.

Drivers using that small minority of cars now risk receiving £60 fines for entering the LEZ, which encompasses the city centre area within the A990 Inner Ring Road.

This will be reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days, while the Wellgate Centre, West Marketgait and Bell Street car parks (the latter is closed for the next year and a half) are exempt.

The scheme targets older diesel and petrol vehicles that contribute most to rising carbon emissions and air pollution.

It has proved a point of contention amongst business owners and other city centre users, who are concerned about the impact it will have.

Short sample shows most motorists following rules

Between 11am and 12pm on Monday, we monitored vehicles entering the southern boundary of the LEZ near Yeoman Shore.

During this hour, 42 vehicles turned off the busy A991 and passed over the green LEZ markings on Dock Street.

We checked each of these against the low emissions Scotland vehicle checker.

Only one of these vehicles was non-compliant with the new restrictions, while several taxis and private cars were electric hybrids.

One of the rule breakers was a diesel Volkswagen Polo.

Motorists need to ensure their diesel or petrol vehicles meet Euro 6 emissions standards to avoid financial penalties.

Essentially, this means any vehicle registered before 2015 and most petrol vehicles older than 2006 are at risk.

This means the vast majority of the vehicles that we counted could enter the city centre freely, with many parking at the Yeoman Shore car park.

Several of these were electric hybrid cars and a diesel Xplore Dundee coach arriving from Edinburgh Airport was also compliant.

From this small sample taken by The Courier, it seems that most motorists are following the rules.

How have readers been reacting to the Dundee LEZ restrictions?

A week before the Dundee LEZ’s two-year grace period came to an end, the Scottish transport minister also visit the Yeoman Shore area.

Fiona Hyslop suggested defended the scheme and claimed it would “encourage more people” into the city centre.

Air pollution campaigners and heath experts believe the Dundee LEZ will improve air quality and therefore, health.

Professor Jill Belch from the University of Dundee’s School of Medicine is among them.

“I’m thrilled to see the LEZ being introduced”, she says.

“We looked at high pollution within hospital admissions. For adults and children, there were much higher admissions to hospital on days where there was high pollution.

“If people want to drive in it, they’re going to have to change their car.”

Motorists and environmentally minded readers of The Courier have also been having their say since the Dundee LEZ fines were imposed at the end of last month.

Gregor McIntosh said: “Dundee should go further and ban cars entirely from the city centre.

“That will make people travel by other means and thus more money will go to it. Walking, cycling, buses.

Meanwhile, another reader shared their concerns that the LEZ would “get slowly expanded over the next few years”.

Another responded: “We can only hope. Clean air is good.”