Roughly 72,000 various different vehicles are likely to be affected with this new policy.
How will I be affected by the changes in emission costs?
Long gone are the days in which you could load up your horsebox and take it wherever you like with the only thing you had to worry about was what you were putting into it, not what it was breathing out.
From 3rd January 2012, horsebox owners will have to take in to account the new charges for driving in the Low Emission Zone which covers most of Greater London.
Boxes which were registered as new before 2002 and weighing between 1.025 (unladen) to 3.5 tonnes (gross vehicle weight) will no longer meet LEZ standards.
Transport for London (TfL) have stated that fitting a Ford Transit horsebox with a new filter to fit the standards will cost approximately £1500 whereas Michael Beal from JMB Horsepower estimated that a horsebox manufacturer plus a repair company would cost closer to £2500.
As well as this, all filters sold, must be tested and adhere to the rules of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.
Horseboxes which currently meet the standard, will feel emission requirements tighten from January 3rd.
Non-compliant vehicle owners will have to ‘pay as they go’ at either £100 (for vehicles below 3.5 tonnes) or £200 (for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes) per day they venture into the LEZ.
Those who own horseboxes who already live in the LEZ must adapt their lorry or risk a £500 fine.
The British Horse Society have said that there are around 55 licensed riding centres in Greater London which will mean that a lot of people will have to change their vehicles in order to match the criteria in which will be the law.
So don’t forget, when travelling to and from shows or just in and out of Greater London in your horsebox, make sure that you and your vehicle are on the right side of these new emission restrictions.
The Stable Doctor
https://primestables.co.uk/news
Advice is given without legal responsibility
