this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2023
1683 points (97.7% liked)
Technology
59657 readers
2727 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related content.
- Be excellent to each another!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Approved Bots
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
What is a congestion charge in this case? It sounds more like a traffic/road maintenance thing than related to emissions?
Most places I've lived (US and Canada) only require emissions testing if the vehicle is old enough not to have modern emissions control sensors. The test costs maybe $20 every couple years, which is nothing compared to all the other costs of owning a vehicle.
~~Presumably your 2010 Polo doesn't have a check-engine light if the catalytic converter has a hole in it, but your 2021 4x4 most certainly does.~~
Edit: (See comments below about emissions systems).
Specifically Washington State only required emissions testing (tailpipe test on a Dyno) on model years 2008 and older, after which the only requirement is California's "CARB certified" with no testing other than at the factory. And as of 2020 they don't even do emissions testing anymore.
It is a charge to drive an older (not better working or less polluting necessarily) model mode of transport in a particular area. It is not a test or anything. Most of these are enforced with licence plate readers and the info on the registry.
Interesting, thanks for the explaination. That's definitely not something I've seen around here. If anything there's more fees for having a new vehicle because they're all heavy SUVs / Trucks / EVs, and you end up paying a heavy vehicle tax that older (and generally lighter) cars don't hit.
At least a heavy vehicle tax has some base in physics (more mass needs more energy to move and all that). The idea that new vehicles are better for emissions just due to when they are made is silly.
The Polo is not mine, I have the 4x4. S friend has the Polo.
Where I live it is law to have a fully functional catalytic converter and it's tested every year and replaced if needed.
Also it's a poor justification anyway, we don't legislate to fine people for something their car might be doing. But then that's not really what the congestion charge is aimed at because it's a really obvious poor tax that people tolerate because it will ultimately ease congestion, albeit unfairly.