I have written a letter to my MP in Nuneaton, Bill Olner (Labour). The letter reads as follows…
Dear Bill Olner
Regarding
the concept of vehicle tracking devices and charge-per-journey raised
by Alistair Darling, could you please advance the rather common-sense
alternative of replacing vehicle licence duty with an extra charge on
fuel at the pump.Replacing car tax with an extra charge on petrol would:
- ensure that everyone who used a vehicle paid road tax.
- encourage people to use cars less frequently, encouraging responsible vehicle usage.
- offer the possibility of incorporating basic third party
insurance cover, thereby avoiding the problem of uninsured drivers and
undue suffering of their victims in accidents.- ensure that those who drive more often and cause most wear and tear to the roads pay more.
- save millions of pounds in administration of the existing vehicle licence system and non-payment of the duty.
- encourage the use of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
This strikes me as a common-sense approach to the whole
issue of vehicle tax and encouragement of environmental responsibility,
expecially when the proposed tracking devices concept would cost
millions to implement.I would be grateful if you could
assure me that this scheme and its merits has at least been outlined to
Mr Darling or raised in parliament.Yours sincerely,
John Chivers
Let’s see if he responds.