Your Comments

Surely almost 100% of motorists use plastic cards to pay for their fuel as it now costs so much? If we used cash perhaps we would feel the expense more keenly and consider carefully whether our journeys are really necessary? Its probably unrealistic to carry £40 or £50 in cash to the garage so we will just carry on flashing the plastic and driving with both a heavy right foot and making unnecessary journeys. Therefore if we want to help the environment (and help our own health) we need some blue sky thinking. We need to promote altenatives to the private car in an original way. We have air miles so why not train miles (are you listening SIr Richard Branson?). By all means consider some form of road pricing but if this is introduced I can't see the government abandoning road tax discs as they will still need to maintain a central database of vehicle registrations. So no great staff and administration savings for H M Treasury to pass on to us here then!

Public Transport : What Planet are you living on : the facilities are expensive and unworkable for most modern motorists. I travel as part of my companies daily activities.

When will the public realise that every penny on fuel has to be transferred as a direct cost to you the consumer. Virtually everything is moved by transport.

Why are we not taxing all the foreign drivers that arrive at our ports fully fueled with cheaper fuel.

If the governments serious why dont they reward us for good behaviour. I needed afleet of vans and was told by Ford that they had stooped all sales of LPG vehicles in this country and had no plans to introduce any.

I doubt this will worry any over expensed politicians

Let me tell you why I feel this travel tax is the worst idea ever.

It is simply a better money spinner for the government. None of the money from the current SET of taxes we pay seems to go anywhere useful - such as the roads, NHS, but instead, for things like an unjustified and incorrect war and even worse, the royal family.

One reason people fear this tax is there is no alternate solution. Public transport is a crock, and its unsafe to be outside at night, and even during the day depending on where you are. So in answer to the reason people drive their car to the shop thats 500m away, try because they're avoiding being stabbed up or shot.

The main reason people fear this tax is the idea of being tracked, which is absolutely horrendous, and should be illegal. To the foolish person that said "ehh, it's ok for it to happen because the government aren't that good at implementing databases anyway", grow up.

The first thing that should happen is for the royal family to be removed, this way they can stop being chauffeured in £200,000 Rolls Royces and stop the princes from taking Jump-Jet Harriers to go see their girlfriends, or whatever that whole stupid thing was.

I mean come on, how much power does that nice palace use, and how many people actualy live there? Get them all out, and let a bunch of people rent.

The second thing that should happen if the government are so obsessed over a greener environment is to stop doing what the royals do on a smaller scale, which instead is to stop being chauffeured around in £80K Bentleys and Jaguars.

Another thing that has annoyed me from reading some of the comments here is people thinking they're allowed to judge others for what and when they drive in general, and saying that "they should just take the bus instead". Just because you can't afford a nice 4x4, or a slick M3, doesn't mean you should snub those who can, who EARNED it from working hard - either for themselves or their children.

If public transport was up to standard, people would use it even with cars, and there would be no need to start forcing people to get it. When public transport is up to this standard - which it is no where near at the moment, then things will begin to improve. It's too hard for them to spend the money we already pay them to help improve our lives with public transport, so instead they charge us more and take our cars away from us?

What is true is that we do need a greener environment, but making something that has slowly become neccessary to life suddenly unaffordable - taxing hard grafters off the road, or tracking them whilst they drive isn't the way to do it. I don't even want to think about how soon and when that system would be exploited.

The situation needs to be resolved by the government and private investers throwing money at scientists, the real saviors of the earth to help them develop new fuels and methods of power that are just as good as current fossil fuels if not better, but at the same time reduce and hopefully one day cut emissions. The situation needs to be resolved by development and progression, not degression and banning things.

If the gov were to bring in this taxing system, the same problem will just occur in the future again. It may work for 5 years, it may work for 10, it may work for 50, but unless public transport is improved and scientists are given funding for development, the same situation will occur, and THEN what will they do?

The government need to stop pretending like they're charging drivers with speed cameras etc for our own good and start looking into how new fuels can be developed, and bringing public transport to the required standard. The government will have no interest in improving public transport, if we were to be forced to use it anyway! Why would they spend money if they don't have to!? *They don't even spend it when they do have to *cough* NHS!* They could just as easily - and probably will - leave it alone, and unless people want to starve and lose their houses and die, they will HAVE to use public transport, no matter how terrible it is, how much it stinks of urine and how many of the modern day "chav" sit at the back of the bus abusing the good people that will be forced to ride with these mistakes of society.

And to the person that said the goverment should limit couples to 1 child, LOL - you must resent your parents as it sounds like you never had siblings your self because you obviously have no idea what it's like or want to have more than one child your self. But that is also one of the worst solutions ever.

The problem is the government is not to be trusted.
There is NO way it intended to lower road tax of fuel tax and it would be naive to think that it did.
It was just attempting to tax us more.
And is quite likely to go ahead and do it anyway, given half a chance.
Name me ONE government that has ever lowered (genuinely lowered) taxes?????
Not one, not since governments began.
Always one tax being lowered is paralleled by another, new tax being brought in.
Why on earth would anyone think this one was going to be any different??

what about all the foreign drivers now on our roads?,do they pay the road tax,insurance&mot costs we pay,if not why not,they have taken most of the jobs in our area so it would only be fair to pay the same as us to use our roads,
i use a 4x4 for my work,its is a requirement of the type of work carried out by me,however if costs keep rising as they are i will have to pass on the costs to my customers many of who are already on a tight budget,i am still charging the same for my services as i was charging 5 years ago because if i was to raise my charges work would suffer because of the already very tight margins we work to.

I think it is diabolical to pay more, we are already taxed to the hilt with petrol, road tax, insurance and MOT. If this government decided to abolish road tax, then a pay as you go would be fairer and would catch anyone that is driving. If memory serves me right the road tax was intiially brought in to pay for the up keep of our roads (yeah right). So why should we pay more, I'll tell you why, so the fat cats in whitehall can get fatter, well not with my money if I can help it.
Keep up the good work guys, it's the only way to grind the bxxxxxds down.

It's OK scrapping the road tax and putting it on the petrol price but being a cynic I would suggest that some years down the line some bright spark in government office will have the bright idea to "Reintroduce" the road tax. Of course this "New" money will be ringfenced for the sole purpose of spending on the roads!(Harr bl**dy Harr). We will of course still be paying the "old" road tax still incorparated in the petrol price!
Can't think of why Gordon Brown hasn't already thought of this!!

It really makes me laugh to hear all the ranters going on about 4x4's and public transport etc. I agree that a 4x4 in the city is probably not a good idea and does play a part in congestion. However, it may come as a shock for some to learn that London (the seat of most hatred towards 4x4's) is to most people an insignificant part of the UK and most people don't live there or care what happens there. Like most 4x4 owners I live in the country where I have no impact on congestion and as far as the environment goes, my car has a 1.4 engine and more often than not I have 4 -5 people + the dog in he car. How many of the ranters own 2 or 3+ litre cars and only drive themselves around.
Anyone who spends time driving on motorways and major roads will know that most congestion here is caused by heavy goods vehicles. Before Maggie ruined the rail network, freight was carried by rail, a congestion free and environmentally friendlier option to road. Just imagine how less congested our major roads would be without all the trucks! I'd like to start a campaign to get freight off the roads and back on the railways where it belongs. This would bring massive investment into the rail network and have the knock on effect of improving one form of public transport. Speaking of which...
Public transport? What public transport would that be then? In the village my wife comes from there are 2 busses a day one out at 10am and one back at 3pm. How are the people who live there going to get to work or go shopping if they leave there cars at home? The nearest town is 7 miles away. I often travel to London by train and on several occasions I've had to stand for the whole 2.5 hour journey from Nott's despite booking a seat. On almost every train journey I've been on people have to stand, sometimes for hours and just look at the tube at rush hour. What incentive is there for people to leave there cars? I would much sooner use public transport than have to drive but until there is a viable alternative I have no options that to use me car.
Basically I think it's time to massively improve public transport and get the freight off our roads and onto the railways.
As far as the tax is concerned; it's nothing to do with congestion or the environment, it's just a tax and if it's not this way it will be another so the government will get our money in the end regardless.

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ZL0LUG
Dear Brendan
This is the e-mail reply i sent the P.M. and fully reflect my views


Dear Prime Minister
As you have sent me an e-mail giving your views on road pricing I am taking the opportunity of returning the compliment by sending my own views on that matter and on and road taxation in general.

In brief, I would say that this new consideration on how to charge road users provides an excellent opportunity to set right the inequities of the current system. This could best be done by abolishing the current road tax method and putting all taxation solely on an increase in the duty paid at the pumps for petrol. This would have the following advantages

Every person using a car would pay the tax. As you must be only too well aware, many road users do not pay their road tax, so this would solve that problem. Furthermore, the cost of the civil service machinery to collect the tax would be largely saved (although not altogether as I believe that a disc should still have to be displayed confirming that the car had passed an MOT, so there would still need to be a degree of civil service involvement).
However, the tax collected via the pumps on a per gallon/litre basis would be proportional to the mileage of the vehicle or vehicles concerned. Thus greater usage and hence greater wear and tear on the road surfaces would be properly paid for by the persons concerned.
Furthermore, people using vehicles needing more petrol for a given mileage (the gas guzzlers - generally heavier vehicles which produce greater road surface wear and tear ) would be paying a greater amount proportionately. This would properly bring the costs of using such vehicles to bear, and would also tend to encourage people to use more economical vehicles, to the benefit of the "global warming" and "green" aspects.
The argument against this and in favour of a metering approach basically must be that the method I am suggesting is not as finely tuned since specific charges cannot be made at congestion and other high usage sectors. This is undoubtedly true, but the general effect of deterring usage by increasing the total price of petrol would go some way towards reducing road usage generally, to the benefit of such sectors. It is also true that without doubt there would be a very considerable proportion of road users who would find some means of avoiding payment of the road pricing charges resulting from the metering approach. Hence this would increase the disparity between what law abiding citizens pay and what the quite considerable and irresponsible non - law abiding element pays.

Thus the method I favour would have the very considerable merit of being much cheaper than the metering method, would not need expensive in-car and road side equipment, would not need to be "policed", would reduce pollution etc, and would bring costs to bear in a much fairer way that ensures that they are borne by all road users. It would put up the immediate cost to the public on day to day running but on a yearly basis most would pay less, and certainly the costs would be more equitably applied over all road users.

Yours sincerely

H. D. Altoft
Z70LUG

We already many times more on Road Tax and fuel duty an is spend on the road system. All the raod tax duty collected should be spend on an intregrated transport system which would encourage people to use alternative tranport especially for short journeys into town.

I am a driver & so is my wife. We both own cars. The public transport system where I live isn't great & so our cars are the only option both for work & pleasure.Also the motorist is already taxed severely both by road tax & fuel tax so why should I pay twice for my fuel. How would all these green preachers feel if they were charged twice for their weekly groceries.

All these comments are worth diddly squat if we are gonna sit on our asses and let this government walk all over us. Are we? Do as they do in France and protest, it's time we did! I'm up for it.

as all ways are goverment is using every method to get money out of joe public to fill there own pockets.Take from the one's that havent and give to the one's that all ways have,whats new

I am retired and live in the countryside in Devon,there is no bus services near me,My Wife and I need the use of a car for mobility
This is another stealth tax from the Government just to raise money,the road tax we pay already if it was used only to improve the roads we would have the best roads in the word,If we only had cars at weekend on the roads,like in Germany,their would be not as much congestion.
This Tax will hit the poor people ,like pensioners and low paid,
The cost of administration will probably be astronomica lgoods transported will rise, I am strictly against it ,thank you.

I agree with the fact that something has got to drastically change with regards to car use, roads, emissions, etc. My problem with the tracking is just that, the tracking, anyone at any time would be able to pin point exactly where a car was. This I know could be extremely useful to some, but come on guys, a little bit of privacy please, next it will be on board video and microphones. There just has to be some other way. Road use would be far easier and less hassle if many of the railway lines had not been removed years ago, trains are much better at carrying cargo not big, heavy trucks trundling through small towns and villages at all hours of the day and night. Don't always fault the motorist and most of all, don't always punish the motorist.

One thing that really annoys me is people who live in cities where there are good public transport links saying we should all be taxed more for using our cars and should leave them at home and use trains and buses.
Currently effective public transport is not available to all, particularly once you move outside of a major city.

I would quite happily use public transport if it were a real alternative.

I live in Worcestershire and drive an 86 mile round trip to work every day, I have to travel this far if I want a decent job that pays the bills. unfortunately driving is at the moment the only viable mode of transport to get me to and from work. I did investigate using public transport but the additional time and cost proved to be prohibitive, plus the fact that it was difficult to actually get a bus from near where I live to the train station at 6 in the morning.

The government really should prioritise and improve public transport to an acceptable level or give us other alternatives before trying to force us out of our cars.

Hi All,

I think that if this is introduced then a lot of people would just buy foreign plated cars to avoid it as they are already doing in London. This is to avoid the congestion charge, speed cameras, road tax , insurance, and MOT. If all the "relevant taxes" were put on petrol at least some revenue would go to the government from these people.

We live in the Beautiful Welsh Countryside and are miles from the nearest shops, the local school is 3 miles away so if the Government gets its way and imposes this new tax people like us will have to pay through the nose to get to civilisation!! I'll have to pay excessive costs to take and collect my daughter from school and we are not on a public transport route. So why should people like us be penalised for wanting to live the same way as others. Yes, we have 2 cars, one each for work etc. I agree, overcrowding on the roads needs addressing, but if the government put more money into removing Uninsured and Untaxed vehicles from the roads it would make a large dent in the amount of traffic out there.

There seems to be policy inconsistancy, as today Sussex announced a school places lottery, meaning longer commutes to schools adding to congestion. Surely nearest appropriate school limits congestion?

In Kent alot of congestion is caused by foreign lorries and cars, how will they pay? Usually they leave before paying fines, so why will this be different? This on a day when the M20 is again closed due to an accident, which are often caused by foreign lorries not seeing cars on their right.

It is usual to know the price before you choose to buy, therefore I assume there will be a price list by road section? If so will this correlate to the majority of journies are less than 2 miles, probably school runs OR more likely it will be motorway based at the pinch points which will do no more than raise tax.

At present through road fuel duty, everyone is paying for use of the road both proportionally to their use and emissions. Will this be scapped, suspect not.

If the government truely wishes to address congestion, it needs to address the school run by some innovitative way. As all know when schools out the journey to work is much easier.

send or none britt born back were they come from then there will be less cars on road and there will be more homes thats whats wrong to many none britts here. so whats is this tax for to stop me going to work i think so or is it for congestion or is it for the ozone or is it for my money. gov make up your mind your just a f**king con.

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There has to be a massive increase in taxes paid by motorist however the governments latest plans are not the way to do it.
As a motorist i accept that i am damaging the environment and only drive if i have to, we must remember this is the reason we need to tax motorists. Increased tax would also help motorist as it would reduce conjestion accidents etc...

However we need to tax the cars which produce the greatest polution the most this current scheme doesn't do that.
e.g my toyota yaris costs me £1 for 10 miles mr big's x5 cost's him £2.50 for 10miles , this tax will mean i will then pay £2 for 10 miles and he will pay £3.50. Thus smaller more efficent cars will pay much greater amounts relatively than larger vehicles 50% more in my case. Why don't we just double the tax on fuel so im paying £1.90 per 10miles and he pays £4.75.

There will be no need to add expensive technology to cars to track us big brother style, to encourage tampering with this technology. It a no fuss low tech obvious solution.

We want to make do less environmental, not to tax people who have to drive. The (labour) governments' scheme taxes the rich at the same rate as the poor??
The only ones who really benefit from this are the petrol companies? Electric hybid or Hummer should it be irrelevent how much petrol we use? have we lost sight of the reasons for these taxes? Do the petrol companies fund the labour party?

I run a business that needs a van to transport goods from A TO B ,If the cost rises much more it will put me out of business.there is no way that i can use public transport.When possible i do for personel travel but find it expencive and unreliable. when the Government make it chepaer and more reliable then i would use it when practicable. Example a short journey of 3 miles costs me £2.40 return on the bus and about 1 hour but in the car is 15 mins and costs about 50 p so for me even with the 50 p for parking it is 1/2 price. !!!!!!!!

As the saying goes, motoring is already heavily taxed via fuel, road tax and probably insurance tax too. Then there's all the money raised from speeding fines.Where does that go? The more you drive the more you pay for fuel there4 the more driving costs, the more you leave your engine running whilst stuck in traffic the more you pay. If the government has decided not to spend the taxes it raises from fuel, road tax insurance tax etc on road or public transport then they should not simply be allowed to spend it elsewhere e.g. the Olympic costs or the failing health service or failing education system. It was raised from transport taxes and should be directed back into public transport. They could encouraged businesses via a tax break to get more people to work from home, and lay on more subsidised transport for the school run. They spout on about it not being a stealth tax but when Derby recently mentioned the roads they might be putting a congestion charge on in order to reduce traffic running into or through the city, and one of these was the A38 which completely bypasses the city but does capture a high volume of traffic that can be charged, it makes you realise that in all probability it will be another way to raise tax and we will see very little in return benefits.

I have no problem with the fact the government wants us to ride public transport. But what i do have a problem with is the fact that, yes public transport is apparently safer (not where i'm from infact my local bus route was recently included in the 10 worst routes in london for safety, and my best friend has been confrunted with knives twice in sucessive months) but it's priced out of reach of the public!!
I, if i didn't have an oyster card, would pay £2 for a quick journey on a bus, £5.40 to travel from leicester square to covent garden (1/4 mile journey by-the-way). Our Londons' travel system is the most expensive in europe and not half as good as, spain's, france, germany even latvia in my experience!! On a recent trip to see my family in australia i travelled around perth on brand new, clean, cheap and well run public transport, why is it other countries can do it and red ken can't??? Too busy in venusualia!!

has to be a massive increase in taxes paid by motorist however the governments latest plans are not the way to do it.
As a motorist i accept that i am damaging the environment and only drive if i have to, we must remember this is the reason we need to tax motorists. Increased tax would also help motorist as it would reduce conjestion accidents etc...

However we need to tax the cars which produce the greatest polution the most this current scheme doesn't do that.
e.g my toyota yaris costs me £1 for 10 miles mr big's x5 cost's him £2.50 for 10miles , this tax will mean i will then pay £2 for 10 miles and he will pay £3.50. Thus smaller more efficent cars will pay much greater amounts relatively than larger vehicles 50% more in my case. Why don't we just double the tax on fuel so im paying £1.90 per 10miles and he pays £4.75.

There will be no need to add expensive technology to cars to track us big brother style, to encourage tampering with this technology. It a no fuss low tech obvious solution.

We want to make do less environmental, not to tax people who have to drive. The (labour) governments' scheme taxes the rich at the same rate as the poor??
The only ones who really benefit from this are the petrol companies? Electric hybid or Hummer should it be irrelevent how much petrol we use? have we lost sight of the reasons for these taxes? Do the petrol companies fund the labour party?

Ref: 547. If anything will work that is the way to go surely, but this country would get it all wrong, as allways!

Who are these people who believe that evryone who runs a car is wealthy? 2, 3, 4 and more cars!! Don't talk daft. Most ordinary households today have a host of amenities our parents/grandparents would have died for - colour tele [often 2 or 3 even on benefits], washing machines, CD/DVD players, gameboys - a 101 modern features in our lives and, yes, cars are amongst them. If you think the rich 'give a damn' about how, and how much, they pay for the use of road vehicles again you are in cloud cukoo land. It is us, the ordinary worker, retired person or person on benefits who 'hurts' as he/she pays so the method is very important indeed. And what about public transport? Where I live it stops at tea-time and like the song is 'Never Ever on a Sunday'. Public Transport my eye. You can't get people onto any public system until that system exists. In today's world we need to travel and the only realistic, and effective, method available is by private transport. If this, and successive governments of all hues hadn't, and didn't, waste billions of pounds a year of the monies extracted from motorists we would have better roads, excellent public transport [they have it in France and Germany, why not us?] derived from a fair system which would charge motorists in a manner that reflects incomes.

I HAVE A RANGE ROVER 4.0LTR YEAR 2000 I NEED IT FOR MY JOB AND NOT LONG AFTER I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE I HAD IT CONVERTED TO LPG BY LAND ROVER, THIS COST ME NEARLY £2,500. WHEN MY ROAD TAX WAS DUE I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO GET A REDUCTION, BUT I WAS IMFORMED THAT THAT ONLY HAPPENS IF YOU GET A BRAND NEW VEHICLE CONVERTED TO LPG, SO MY RANGE ROVER IS MORE ECO FRIENDLY THAN A HELL OF A LOT OF PETROL VEHICLES BUT I HAVE TO PAY A HELL OF A LOT MORE ROAD TAX. IS THIS WHAT THIS GOVERMENT CALLS FAIR ????

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A very simple answer to this is - there is no issue as we motorists all pay a 'fair' tax in the form of petrol duty every time we drive. If you drive a 'thirsty' vehicle then you pay more tax than a more modest wehicle driver would. The way you drive will also have an effect. Has anyone thought of the plight of countryside dwellers where there is no alternative way of getting from A - B without their car. Should they revert to a horse & cart creating more Carbon emissions with their 'deposits' along the road. If the government wish to reduce 'greenhouse gases then they must come up with a viable means for the rural population to travel even to their nearest shops & post offices. In any case facts are beginning to emerge that show the climate warming phenomenon is not new - it was going on thousands of years ago long before the human race became 'industrialised'. Let's make sure central government do not use this 'congestion' argument to raise more tax for them to waste.

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To the moron that thinks extra tax on motorists is a good thing, please try to engage your brain before putting your mouth into gear. Firstly, to get people onto public transport you need a decent public transport system, something which we do not have in this country. What we have is unreliable, dirty, expensive bus systems that clog up the roads, and the Greater Manchester Tram service is the ideal place for undesirable thugs to hang about on in preparation for carrying out assaults and muggings.
Secondly, if you care to read the facts and get you information from a reliable source, you will find that vehicle emissions account for only a very small percentage of the harmful greenhouse gasses that are "damaging the ozone layer".
Additionally, before spouting off on a subject that you obviously know very little about, think about those people that start work at odd hours and travel to places which are not even served by public transport.
I for one would prefer to travel in a vehicle which I know to be clean and free from germs, which gets me to where I want to go when I want to be there.
Remember, we are supposed to be living in a free and democratic country where we should be able to choose our own mode of travel, and not be dictated to.

Having read most of the comments so far (to 75) it is interesting to see the issues raised and I can align with very many. I own a car - I need a car - and it is taxed insured, Mot'd etc to be totally legal. I also know of people who do not register their car purchase so - until stopped by a proper police patrol - will never be caught for speeding, parking fines or whatever. I work in the NHS and when called, need often to get to places quickly. Finding a bus service to most of the locations is completely out of the equation.
It is easy to generalise and moan about 4x4's, disabled people etc and I try to avoid that. However, it is galling to see huge vehicles with one child being transported a mile or so to school and , perhaps it is just me, but doesn't every driver of these vehicles seem to be permanently on the phone!
Sorry - bias over. I do object to mileage charges as I fear the unregistered brigade will be laughing again as it won't affect them. The people who really do need to use their cars will find alternative routes probably through housing areas and driving through width restrictions, over road humps etc adding to the pollution problem and certainly being far more dangerous for residents in those areas. As for tracking - I don't particularly worry about CCTV as I try not to do anything very wrong so suppose I should not be worried about a box in my car. BUT.. we do live in a so called free society and this really is big brother watching us a bit too much. Again the dodgers will find a way round it of course. I really think the only fair way of taxing drivers is to scrap the road tax and have the duty on petrol. As many people have said here, that will mean people who drive huge vehicles will pay more (I suggest if folk can afford £60k and more for a car, they can afford the tax probably) and by all means allow a concession for genuinely disabled drivers in sensible vehicles. Foreign vehicles visiting will also contribute more fairly and the unregistered cars will still need fuel. The suggestions about an insurance/mot disc on the windscreen is excellent and should be enforcable with so many wardens and walking police about, apart from the new recognition cameras. Lastly a final moan; by all means get on a bike but do bear in mind even cycle lanes need to be provided and maintained/ Cyclists do not pay a road tax for the bike so presumably the motorist (alright I know many cyclists are also motorists) have got to pay? I am not going to get political either. All power to your campaigns.

Well I work nights in a warehouse, there is no public transport at the time I arrive/leave work so have no option but to drive. I also own 2 cars because I ENJOY driving. Saying that 95% of my driving IS work related so go figure. But lets look at another aspect, mobile companies, ie. electricians, plumbers etc. How would a by the mile charge affect their prices? Also if the charge is a non constant how would they actually calculate their prices? Tbh im not 100% against road charging but I do think it would be a nightmare for everybody. The current system is MUCH simpler to understand/budget for.

having read most of the comments on here, im in agreance with most of you. This so called "road toll" is just another form of tax for the motorist. Its irrelevent whether you drive a 4x4 or an old mini, we will all get taxed by how much we drive and at what time. Im self employed and need a car for my work (taxi driver), how much will i be taxed for trying to earn a living? Top and bottom of it all is if the government stopped giving our money away to various countries and spent it on upgrading our roads then we wouldnt be in this mess, (hey im all for charity,, but charity begins at home) perhaps the government should think the same.