Car tax / road fund licence

[artie]

I think the exemption was for 25 year old vehicles when it was introduced and has subsequently extended.

My turn to be pedantic.

If the exemption was changed from 25 yo vehicles to 40 yo vehicle that would be a reduction.

Was it ever for 25 yo vehicles?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

"The UK had a 25-year rolling tax exemption in place for classic vehicles in the past but this was abolished in 1997 by the incoming Labour government. In the intervening years the 1972 cut-off for the classic car tax exemption remained in place, until 2014 when plans were announced to reintroduce the rolling 40-year exemption. During the 2015 budget, these plans were confirmed, to the joy of many enthusiasts."

My cousin had an MG that missed it by a year.

 

[mc281]

If that be the current term for the amount of cash extorted by His Majesty's government for keeping a car on a public road.

No you can keep the vehicle anywhere.... It's the fee that you pay to be allowed to shake your car to pieces by driving over the potholes, which incidentally no-one wishes to do anyway!
The government are considering a plan to flood all the roads with overflow sewage, allowing us all to travel by boat, this avoiding complaints about the potholes.

 

[stuart little]

"The UK had a 25-year rolling tax exemption in place for classic vehicles in the past but this was abolished in 1997 by the incoming Labour government. In the intervening years the 1972 cut-off for the classic car tax exemption remained in place, until 2014 when plans were announced to reintroduce the rolling 40-year exemption. During the 2015 budget, these plans were confirmed, to the joy of many enthusiasts."

My cousin had an MG that missed it by a year.

Mine didn't miss!

 

[Stan]

In 2024 a police car in it's fancy phycologicaly inspired blue and yellow livery is a rare sight indeed and a foot patrol practically non existent.

I sometimes wonder what they are all doing nowadays.

"all"? implies there are many out there. You would be shocked by how few are actually out and about.

The livery is not about psychology it is about maximising visibility, especially when the vehicle is stationary on a road at an incident.

To put it in perspective -
More than 30 years ago my patrol section consisted of 1 inspector, 3 sergeants and 18 PC's. There were 5 sections in total allowing for 24-hour cover of a busy 80,000 person town. On top of this each beat had a beat bobby.

18 PC's meant that allowing for leave, court cases, sickness, training and abstractions ( officers borrowed for other duties ) it meant that around 10-12 was normal for a daily turnout. This allowed for emergency reponse and what was known as pro-acive policing. This was another word for patrolling the hotspots, looking for trouble and either nipping it in the bud or dealing with it immediately.

After the financial crash of 2008 and the loving caress of Theresa May, ( who is to UK policing as Beeching was to the railways ), actual on the ground patrol strength was often as low as 4. The inspectors were gone, centralised to save money. Sergeants were 1 or 2 and PC's varied between nominally 8 to12, before accounting for reductions mentioned above. How do I know? - I was there and witnessed it. Proactive policing vanished and became "fire-brigade" policing - turning up when a "fire" ( incident) had broken out because there was nobody to keep a general eye beforehand. It's all down to money, or lack of it. ( Don't get me started on the PR con-trick that are PCSO's).

On top of all this bureaucratic nonsense blossomed, and you could spend an hour writing up a non-crime incident that took ten minutes to resolve.

However, that's all another story.

To answer the original OP, the best thing to do is check the .gov website for the rules. I don't know if NI has different rules from England/Wales, but over here you are responsible for the vehicle from the day you become owner. Keep paperwork proof which day that was, so if anybody does ask about back tax you can prove it is not your problem.

In England/Wales you must do one of two things - tax it, or declare SORN, which is keeping it off road. Check what they actually mean by off-road. Some people live in housing association areas which have designated parking spaces. You will need to check if something like that is allowed under SORN. Some people are tempted to declare SORN and then still use it on the road anyway - a very bad idea and likely to get expensive for anyone who does.

Finally, to the person who implied that MoT's were a niggle, take a look at RTA/RTC death stats. Compare the 1970's with today. Don't just compare the bare total number of deaths, but compare the number of deaths per vehicle mile. Today the roads are much busier but the death/injury rate is far better. Improving the quality/safety of vehicles on the roads by insisting on MoT's is one part of the strategy to improve that

 

[artie]

The livery is not about psychology

Thanks for that, straight from the horses mouth so to speak.

But the colours are carefully picked and for reasons you can easily research.

Why is the predominant colour in a news studio almost always blue?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Because the news is usually depressing.

 

[artie]

Because the news is usually depressing.

Good try but no cigar.

 

[John Hughes01]

We should be proud of our car safety procedures. I spend a lot of time in Houston TX and take my son's vehicles for their Inspections. It cost only $7($14 I believe if you want ensure it passes). It takes five minutes but can't be done if it's raining as they can't test the brakes! In Houston they are considering stopping them completely as they are seen as an inconvenience to the drivers! Needless to say,there are many "wrecks" on the freeways in particular as cars speed along with no hoods(sorry,bonnets) and headlights stuck in with duct tape. No, we are lucky not to endure these "third world" conditions.

 

[Cabinetman]

Yes I think you are correct about the MOT’s things are much better, also cars don’t rust away like they used to.
I took this pic I Cleveland Ohio in the States, there were others but this was the worst. Slice you open as it passed by.

 

[John Hughes01]

We should count ourselves lucky that we have a decent testing system. I spend a lot of time in Houston TX where an "MOT" cost $7 and takes about five minutes -$14 if you want to be assured of passing but test can't be done if it's raining beccause they cant test the brakes!!! There are lots of pile ups on the freeways as cars are running around with no hoods(sorry,bonnets) and headlights held in place with duct tape! They are thinking of removing the need to be tested as it is seem as an inconvenience for the driver! A third world country in many ways.