Are you aware of new driving laws coming into effect in 2023?

A number of new driving laws are being phased in during 2023.

They include the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), changes to fuel duty, company car tax rates, a £110million car scrappage scheme and a possible pavement parking ban in Scotland.

This blog explains how they could affect you.

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Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)

ULEZ is set to expand for the third time on August 29, 2023. ULEZ, which currently covers parts of Central London within the North and South Circular Roads, will soon apply to all 33 London boroughs.

If your car doesn’t meet the zone’s tough emission standards you face a charge of £12.50 each time you drive within the ULEZ.

The change aims to improve the capital’s poor air quality and encourage people to switch to greener cars or use public transport.

You can use a vehicle checker to see if yours meets the emission standards.

TfL scrappage scheme

In response to the ULEZ, the Mayor of London has announced a £110m scheme to help those affected.

It is open to Londoners who receive benefits or small businesses and charities registered in the capital. This article explains more about the scrappage scheme.

Fuel duty rates

Fuel duty was reduced by 5p for a year to help with the increasing price of fuel and the cost of living. On March 23, 2023, fuel duty rates were set to be returned to normal, but they have been extended for another 12 months.

Benefit in kind (BiK)

BiK rates, or company car tax, applies to those who use a vehicle for their personal use.

Rates have risen in recent years. A petrol car emitting 100g/km emissions today pays 25% BiK – more than double the BiK rate in 2013.

However, the government has announced BiK demands will remain the same till April 2025.

The freeze aims to encourage people to choose electric power over conventional fossil-fuelled vehicles for company cars.

Electric vehicle tax

From April 2025, electric vehicles registered from April 2017 will have to start paying vehicle excise duty – road tax.

Electric vehicles registered after April 2025 will remain in the lowest tax bracket for the first year – paying only £10 – and then move up to the standard rate, currently £165.

Electric cars costing in excess of £40,000 will also incur the additional £355 charge which they were previously exempt from.

This does, however, mean that electric car owners will continue to enjoy 0% vehicle excise duty for the next two years while diesel and petrol car owners will pay the minimum flat rate of £165.

Scotland’s pavement parking ban

Scotland announced a ban on parking on pavements and dropped kerbs in the 2019 Transport Act but the law has not yet been introduced.

In 2021, the then Transport secretary Michael Matheson said the ban should be introduced by December 2023.

Read this blog to learn more about other driving rules you may not be aware you are breaking.

Where can I get cheap insurance with driving convictions?

There’s no excuse for falling foul of new motoring laws. Ignorance simply isn’t a defence. But here at Adrian Flux we feel if you have been punished for a motoring offence you shouldn’t be penalised again by having your car insurance premium hiked up as a result of it.