The RAC are advising all motorists that intend to travel to France to order vehicle emissions stickers sooner rather than later after it is reported to have taken six weeks for one to reach the UK recently.
The Crit ‘Air Scheme was introduced in January this year. It is part of an attempt by the French authorities to combat pollution and means that all cars, lorries buses and motorcycles must display a sticker on their windscreen according to the amount they pollute. The stickers cost £3.60 each, which includes postage and they cover six different vehicle categories. There is an on the spot fine payable for any vehicle that fails to display a valid sticker and this can be from £58-£117 (68-135 Euros)
The RAC tested the efficiency of this system by ordering a sticker from the official Crit’Air site on 6th February and it did not arrive until six weeks later on 16th March, although the letter had the date of 2nd March. It is stated on the site that stickers will arrive within 30 days. A spokesman for the RAC has said that as a result of this delay they are now worried that anyone ordering ahead may not receive their stickers in time, therefore they would like to advise motorists that ordering ASAP is highly recommended in order to avoid any issues with the French authorities. The spokesman added further that they hoped the French authorities would not fine someone who has proof they have ordered a sticker but have not yet received it.
You must know your vehicle’s European emissions standard to order your sticker. For newer vehicles that are covered by Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards you may find the category in section D2 of you DVLA keeper form. Owners of older vehicles must find out when it was manufactured and check the emissions bands.
The Crit’Air scheme is in place to stop the worst polluting vehicles from travelling in the affected places. Prior to this system, on bad pollution days in Paris vehicles were stopped from driving in the area based on whether their number plates were odd or even.
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