Low-emission zones (LEZs) are formally beginning in four Scottish cities, although enforcement will not begin for at least a year.
Glasgow joins Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee in introducing LEZs in order to improve air quality, with many older vehicles banned from city centres.
Grace periods are now in place for the four cities, with enforcement due to begin on different dates.
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In Glasgow, the LEZ is already in place for buses and will apply to other vehicles from June 1, 2023, with the grace period for residents extended to June 1, 2024.
But how do you know if your car is allowed to drive in the LEZ, which is illustrated in the map below?
According to Glasgow City Council, the criteria generally speaking is: "diesel engine vehicles registered after September 2015, and petrol vehicles registered from 2006 onwards will meet the required LEZ standards."
The council website currently reads:
"Emission standards for LEZs in Scotland have been set nationally - these are:
• Euro 4 for petrol vehicles
• Euro 6 for diesel vehicles
• Euro IV for heavy duty petrol vehicles such as buses/coaches and HGVs
• Euro VI for heavy duty diesel vehicles such as buses/coaches and HGVs
"Vehicles which have been appropriately modified or retrofitted to meet or exceed these emission standards will also be permitted entry to LEZs in Scotland.
"For practical purposes, it is generally the case that diesel engine vehicles registered after September 2015, and petrol vehicles registered from 2006 onwards will meet the required LEZ standards.
"Find out more about determining the Euro standard of a vehicle and whether it is likely to comply with the proposed LEZ emission standards here."
The Euro standard of your car can generally be found on the inside of your vehicle's driver or passenger door frame, while for newer vehicles it may be included in your log book.
Meanwhile, Transport Scotland are in the process of creating an online vehicle checker which will enable you to enter your registration number and find out whether your car is eligible for an LEZ. In the meantime, they have produced a more basic checker which you can access here.
And in terms of vehicle exemptions, Glasgow City Council have listed the following on their website:
"Please note that motorcycles, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles are unaffected by LEZ schemes in Scotland.
"Some categories of vehicle will also be exempt from LEZ emission requirements. Set at national level for consistency, these include:
- Vehicles for disabled persons (including blue badge holders)
- Police vehicles
- Ambulance and emergency vehicles
- Scottish Fire and Rescue
- Her Majesty's Coastguard
- National Crime Agency
- Military vehicles
- Historic vehicles
- Showman's vehicles
For more on the introduction of the Low Emission Zone, Glasgow City Council have published a Q&A section on their website which you can view here.
