Dec 07/Jan/08

Truck operators are dragging their heels over equipping for London's Low Emission Zone (LEZ), which comes into force for diesel-engined goods vehicles over 12 tonnes gross on 4 February 2008, and vehicles over 3.5 tonnes from July, as well as buses and coaches.

That's the worry of the Freight Transport Association, which lobbied to get a Low Emissions Certificate scheme in place. So far, it says, 2,000 LECs have been issued by VOSA, representing a saving in reduced compliance costs of over £10 million. But it fears more vehicles should be being tested.

The zone extends over the Greater London Authority boundary - more or less the area covered by Transport for London. This is far wider than the Congestion Zone in the central area. The M25 itself however is not included.

Affected vehicles will have to meet the Euro 3 engine standards for particulate matter, though passing the test for the Low Emissions Certificate exempts vehicles on a yearly basis.

 

Telematics could have a role in this. Technically, it should be possible for 'geofences' to be set up in most tracking systems to alert drivers of older vehicles if they are in danger of straying into the zone.

However, unlike the Congestion Zone, whose advent promoted the launch of numerous telematics-based schemes for avoiding the affected area or monitoring travel within it, the LEZ has not made so many waves in telematics circles - possibly because the territory covered is so large that it will be very much more difficult for operators to avoid if they have business in the area.

However, the fees for entering the zone with a non-approved vehicle are far higher. The daily fee will be a swingeing £200, while the penalty for not paying will be up to £1,000 - figures which make the scheme effectively a blanket ban on non-compliant vehicles. So there is good reason to avoid infringing the new rules.

Some telematics suppliers are already developing LEZ-related products alongside their tracking systems. GlobalLive, for instance, is planning to offer a system providing live monitoring of emissions from vehicle exhausts, while Lysanda has launched a system called Eco-Log for predicting emissions on the basis of information from the vehicle's on-board diagnostic system.