First October will see abolition of the road tax disc - part of motoring life for over 90 years in the UK. Here's a short article celebrating (or not) its demise... :smile: Ta-Ta Tax Disc - Big Bike Mad What do you lot think - is Ditching the Disc a Good Thing or a Bad Thing? :frown:
In todays number plate recognition nanny state the disc does not matter, remembering to tax your pride and joy may be a problem if they stop sending reminders. One thing big brother could do is to have all filling stations read and check the number plate of any car, bike van etc filling up and if they did not register as having valid tax, mot, insurance etc then fuel would not be dispensed. Then maybe our collective insurance premiums would be less.
There goes one standard question of motorcycle forums......"where should I fit my tax disc on ....."??? Always had a photo copy on display on the bike and original at home after once having one nicked.
In all honesty the system wasn't broke so why change it? And if you are thinking that the police are going to start chasing cars with ANPR (which is limited depending on the force) then guess again as they are having their budgets squeezed that there will be a good chance that we will see police numbers decreasing (through retirement and a freeze on recruitment), also there are quite a few police forces in the UK that are almost bankrupt due to cost cutting at the moment (although Surrey didn't really do themselves any favours when they spent 15 million pound on a new Crime reporting system that ended up being scrapped) I can also see an increase in cloned number plates being used by the more dishonest element in our society. The government can say what they want at the end of the day there will be a great deal more untaxed vehicles on the road and as per usual there won't be the resources to police it. Surely not printing a small round bits of paper will not mean that the billions of dollars the country owe will be wiped out?? Anyway very good article HH :upyeah: Cheers Steve
Good thread this I didn't realise From October 1st 2014, Selling a car or bike will also attract a bit more hassle, not less. Previously you could advertise 'months of tax remaining'. Not any more. The owner will have to reclaim the tax and the new buyer must start from scratch !!! How's that gunna work on a wet cold dark night having travelled. Insurance void??? I'm going to lay down in a dark quiet room..again..:frown:
'I can also see an increase in cloned number plates being used by the more dishonest element in our society' - That's a point Steve - I'll put that into the article. Plus Forum Logo. Dave
Well I like the idea as I renew online anyway but do agree with the earlier comments ,the criminal element will find ways around it , I think its a good idea to change it but have reservations ,time will tell
I don't know why they don't just scrap the whole system and put a bit on the price of fuel.High mileage drivers will pay more. I object to paying £78 when it's in the garage most of the week and some cars are paying £15 a year or nothing at all. The French have done this and saved a fortune by getting rid of the whole admin department. Sorry....rant over
Haven't bothered displaying on the bike for the past 5 years. I just carry in my wallet. Now I won't need to bother carrying it.
Dave just a point with regards to you article. With regards to checking tax on a vehicle the Police do not hold these records, they are owned and maintained by the DVLA in Swansea, and every day a courier takes the records there as they are deemed to important to send electronically. So PNC (the Police National Computer) is always a day behind. Thinking about this this may also increase the number of vehicle stops as it is a valid reason to stop a vehicle to check for driver and vehicle documents and as you have no idea if the vehicle has been taxed or not. There are of course pro's and con's to both sides. In all honesty I believe the UK should copy most of the Australian States where not only do you pay for road tax it also pays for 3rd party insurance so that you know that any vehicle that has current tax also has insurance. New Zealand has Road tax as well but it isn't compulsory to have insurance which is a bit strange. Give it a couple of months and we will see how it goes then once everything settles down and the police operations run down, especially once the pre Christmas burglary patrols start.
Mines been off since March. Move with the times and stop living in the past...Things look ugly on a good bike.
That's the best thing I've read all day. I do loath the expensive insurance premiums and tax, but we all pay it and you have to. The most annoying thing is your premium going up due to complete and utter turds thinking they're too important to pay. Make it illegal to dispense fuel to uninsured and untaxed cars. The multimillionaire fuel tycoons can surely spare a penny or two for ANPR to be fitted. Hell I'm sure the state may even provide a subsidy for it. After all it would give the policeman more time to go catch criminals and the pumps could catch tax dodgers. You should put this forward!
Yes - I thought of that one too - can't ride without fuel so linking fuel and tax would work. Tick VG.
I don't think the abolition of the tax disc will be a major problem or lead to an increase in vehicle crime. After all: We never had an "MOT disc" either, and fitting the tax disc into my waterproof holder was a bit of a palaver anyway so I'm quite pleased it's going.
When I went to tax my car and motorcycle at the post office on the 30th September, I took all of my documents. The staff at the counter said "I only need to see your reminders to scan them. All the other information is on the screen after scanning". I presume this information is also displayed in Police vehicles.
