Banning Dirty Cars From City Centres in Germany

From the business section of the Toronto Star, Wednesday, January 2, 2008, page B4, an article about Germany's plan for taking car of air pollution and dirty cars:

GERMANY BANS AIR-FOULING VEHICLES

Berlin - Three German cities, including the capital Berlin, began implementing a new air pollution system yesterday that bans the dirtiest vehicles from their centres.

Drivers in Berlin, Cologne and Hanover are now required to display a coloured badge showing the level of pollution cuased by their vehicle, with a scale of red, yellow and green.

Some vehicles, notably an estimated 1.7 million old diesel cars and vans, will not qualify for even the most polluting red badges and will be prohibited in central areas.

Drivers without a badge who are caught in the city centre will face a 40 euro, or $58 (Canadian), fine and will be docked a point on their driving licence.

The system is to be extended to about 20 German cities this year, including Stuttgart and Munich.

It applies to all vehicles, including those registered outside Germany, but some officials have indicated that foreign cars will be treated with leniency.

In Berlin, city authorities have decided not to punish errant drivers until the end of January.
gence France-Presse