Driving law changes introduced this year could see motorists hit with huge fines and licence issues

Motorists are being warned of a number of massive driving law changes which were introduced this year which could catch them out and see them fined or removed from roads.

Huge changes were unveiled this year to deal with dangerous driving, high pollution levels and even to address the price of petrol and diesel at the pumps.

While the Government has launched the “Plan for Drivers” to protect Britons from anti-motorist policies, new laws are constantly being introduced to crack down on the 50 million licence holders across the UK.

GB News has rounded up the most important driving law changes introduced in the last 12 months that motorists need to know about.

Ultra Low Emission Zone

Sadiq Khan followed through with this controversial decision to extend the Ultra Low Emission Zone on August 29 with non-compliant vehicles being required to pay the £12.50 daily charge.

The zone was expanded to cover all boroughs across the capital, bordering the North Circular Road (A406) and the South Circular Road (A205), meaning an extra five million people are now living inside the zone.

To ease the pressure on motorists, Transport for London’s scrappage scheme was extended to all Londoners with a non-ULEZ-compliant car, meaning they were eligible for a £2,000 grant.

Since the rollout, thousands of angry Londoners have protested the expansion with a handful taking extreme measures to cut down or block Ulez cameras, with the so-called “blade runners” gaining huge levels of support.

In a recent incident, counter-terrorism police arrested two men on suspicion of using explosives to blow up a Ulez camera in Sidcup which also caused damage to nearby vehicles and properties.

Fuel duty

In March’s Spring Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a 12-month extension to the five pence per litre cut in fuel duty introduced the previous year.

It was originally rolled out by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak who unveiled the changes in response to expensive petrol and diesel prices stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and high global oil prices.

There were hopes that Jeremy Hunt would announce new measures to protect motorists at the pumps in the Autumn mini-budget, although these fell on deaf ears.

The 5p fuel duty cut is set to come to an end in March 2024 with some fearing that the Government could raise the rate for the first time in more than a decade to raise funds.

20mph speed limits

Drivers in Wales saw a major change to speed limits in September when all restricted roads – namely those in residential areas and with street lights – saw the default limit drop to 20mph.

In response to the new road changes, Mark Baker, a concerned Welsh resident, called on the “socialist” Welsh Government to “rescind and remove” the 20mph speed limit laws.

The petition currently has more than 467,000 signatures, making it the most popular Senedd petition in history, and is expected to force a debate in the Welsh parliament in 2024.

Enforcement was believed to have been formally adopted on December 17, with the GoSafe road partnership and Welsh police forces expected to only start prosecutions if someone drives at 26mph in a 20mph limit area.

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Clean Air Zones

The start of the year saw the launch of the Tyneside Clean Air Zone with drivers in Newcastle and Gateshead seeing new measures introduced to slash emissions on January 30, although charges were not introduced until July.

Sheffield was the next target for a Clean Air Zone at the end of February with the most polluting vans, LGVs and taxis being charged £10 per day and owners of coaches, buses, lorries and HGVs having to pay £50 a day to drive inside the zone.

The first of four Low Emission Zones in Scotland launched in June with non-compliant drivers being charged £60 to drive into Glasgow city centre.

If paid quickly, the fine will be cut to £30, but if someone fails to pay, the penalty charge amount will double each time, with charges capped at £480 for cars and LGVs and £960 for buses and HGVs.

Number plates

Two new licence plates were rolled out this year to denote a new batch of vehicles, with the “23” plate being introduced in March and “73” in September.

The so-called “new reg day” is always a big event for motor forecourts around the UK, with new “24” and “74” plates to be unveiled in 2024.

Expat driving licences

From September 15, British expats in Spain were issued with a dilemma to ditch their UK-issued driving licences for a Spanish one to stay on the roads.

This has been done to protect Britons living in Spain and to ensure they do not need to take a Spanish language driving test.

Once the deadline passes, drivers will no longer have the opportunity to switch out their licences and may need to take another driving test to stay on the roads.