Distance charge a ‘nonsense idea’

It is quite clear that the elephant in the room is electric vehicles. Now I have gone on record to express my cynicism of EVs and must declare an interest in owning a fuel forecourt. However, until experience tells me otherwise I will continue to record them as ‘the emperor’s new clothes’. They should not be allowed free use of the roads when so many other people have to pay serious amounts of their hard-earned cash on fuel duties. I have done some rough calculations on various use models.

1. The old-age pensioner who buys a tenner’s worth a week pays £5.20 a week in fuel duties, i.e £270 per annum.

2. Some people with perhaps a wider social life pay £20 a week, of which fuel duties amount to £10.40 a week, i.e. £540 per annum.

3. Then we come to the busy mother of two children who uses £40 a week, who contributes £1,040 per annum to the States in fuel duties.

So, based on example number two, it would not be unreasonable for electric cars to pay £540 a year to use the roads whilst electric vans should be based on example three and pay £1,040 per annum. This could be levied as an annual road tax for EVs which are already registered, which would not apply to fossil fuelled vehicles, which already pay taxes on fuel purchased.

As there are not that many electric vehicles, the administration should not be as onerous as if we had road tax back for all vehicles, whilst for all new EV registrations it could be a simple £5,400 first registration on electric cars and £10,400 on electric vans and no annual road tax.

So, a reasonably simple solution to the issue. No need for trackers or distance charging and very little extra administration. (Can I just remind our deputies that there is a three-week delay in issuing driving licences, so the VRLD would not appreciate too much extra work going in their direction). We should also be looking at the cost of disposing of the batteries from electric vehicles; they are heavy and they are hazardous, so as we cover the cost of end-of-life vehicle disposal that needs to be factored into the equation.

I noticed recently that the scrapyard is only accepting lead acid batteries, presumably due to the fire they had. If it costs, say, £1,000 to get rid of the spent batteries, then that needs to be added to the first registration charge.

As an aside, Facebook is alive with people objecting to the idea of trackers in their vehicles; it is a nonsense idea from a nonsense States Assembly. In my opinion it is a violation of our human rights and I would say that 90% of people object to the idea. Even on radio donkey the other morning a lady in her 80s said she would go to prison rather than having a tracker fitted.

Well, they had better enlarge Les Nicolles as she will not be the only one, as I and countless others will be joining her.

TREVOR HOCKEY

Trev’s Motorcycles.