Pay attention on vacation
If you go on holiday with an older car, you will increasingly have to take environmental zones into account in and around foreign cities. In recent years, more have been added and the number will also increase in 2023. With an EV or recent petrol car you do not have to pay attention to anything for the time being, but here and there a petrol model from, for example, 2005 is no longer allowed. In addition, you are sometimes expected to buy a separate sticker – even if your car is ‘clean’.
The environmental zones in the Netherlands are no longer in the news: as a petrol car or EV driver you simply don’t have to pay attention to anything, the increasingly rare diesel driver now knows where he or she – in some cases – is no longer allowed to go. If you cross the border, that will change and in some places you will no longer be welcome with a petrol car. In addition, you must order a sticker in advance for some countries. Of course we all know the German Umweltplakette, but before you enter some cities in France or Spain, you often need a sticker these days.
New zones in 2023
Now the French exists Vignette Crit’Air for a number of years, but since 1 January it is needed in more places than before. Nice, Toulon and Toulouse in the South of France, among others, are tightening their zones. Until now, the latter had the option of introducing temporary zones in the event of strong air pollution, but since the turn of the year has had a permanent environmental zone, in which you are not allowed to enter with, for example, a petrol model from 1996 or a diesel from 2005. Or at least: with a car without an environmental sticker with a maximum of a 3 on it. You only get this if your car meets the Euro 2 standard, which was mandatory for new cars from 1997. On 1 January 2024, the rules in Toulouse, among others, will be tightened again. Other restrictions apply in Nice and Toulon and closer to home we find the low-emission areas in Lille and Strasbourg, for example.
The strictest rules apply in Paris and they will change again on July 1, 2023. From then on, you are no longer allowed to enter the city with a diesel without a Euro 4 classification or a petrol without a Euro 2 classification. From 1 January 2024 ‘no more diesels’ will apply and from 2030 only vehicles powered by electricity and hydrogen will be allowed to enter the city. Small relief if you have to pass Paris alone: ​​you don’t need a vignette on the ring road.
As of January 1, many more environmental zones in Spain
You understand: in France a lot changes (because it varies per city) and often. But the country is not unique in this. They also have different rules in Spain and Italy. For France you only need to arrange a sticker in advance and then you may or may not enter somewhere, but with the Italians it is much less clear – while you will also find environmental zones in quite a few cities there. This also applies in Spain from now on. Since January 1, every city with more than 50,000 inhabitants must set up a zone.
A bit of luck: the green German Umweltplakette, which you also get with a petrol car from, for example, 1992, is an equivalent in Spain for the majority of the stickers there. A Spaniard would no longer be allowed to enter the cities with the said car, but if the car is registered abroad, it is allowed with a green German sticker. Separate rules only apply to Barcelona and you would have to arrange extra things in advance.
Pre-work prevents fines
In less sunny countries such as Denmark or the United Kingdom, environmental zones are also a point of attention. For example, London will tighten its restrictions as of August 1 of this year. Almost every Western European country knows them these days. In short: are you planning to go on a road trip with your older car, or do you want to buy a car with friends to go on a road trip? Then check carefully where you want to go and/or where you are allowed to go with your vehicle. With the increasing number and stricter zones in Europe, this is becoming more important every year.
That’s not fun, by the way. The rules and procedures vary considerably and where in one city you have to call in advance for a possible exemption, in another you can ‘just’ buy a sticker on the spot, and for the next you have to order at least ten days before departure. order stickers. On the other hand; if you don’t go to the big cities with your car, then you really don’t have to worry much. If you do plan to do so, take some time before departure to view the following sites: those about environmental zones of the ANWB and urbanaccessregulations.eu.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl