RE: Inflating the leaky balloon26 May 2026 17:27
@skier My VED (car tax) is £30 for the Ceed and £65 for the SUV—maybe you're driving the wrong car. The nearest speed camera to here is 18 miles away, and if you don't exceed the speed limit, a speed camera isn't an issue. The closest clean air/ULEZ zones are Birmingham, Bath, and Bristol. We rarely go to Brum anyway as I don't need the Jewellery Quarter anymore, and if we do enter a zone, we use a Blue Badge which provides an exemption when our daughter is with us. As far as accidents are concerned, they have always been criminalised if you broke the law when you caused it. It has been that way for almost a century.
Regarding pay-per-mile, the actual rate for EVs is 3p per mile. Unless you are doing high mileage, you will need to do an awful lot of miles before it becomes noticeable, it works out at exactly £300 per 10,000 miles. When the system is eventually extended to ICE vehicles, it will likely be a similar amount, which is no hardship for many considering fuel already costs significantly more. On the plus side, if you run a business, mileage claims are increasing from 45p per mile to 55p per mile.
As for the claim about working from home: the shift is substantial enough that reduced footfall has caused numerous shops and food outlets in town and city centres to close down permanently, proving that people are indeed remaining at home during working hours. If all you do is walk your dog and watch Netflix when you're supposed to be working, that's your lookout, but many work from home very successfully. Some even work from their laptops whilst travelling the world.