TOT Electric cars will be cheaper to run

[alan_m]

Pills for short term before the 20 year olds reach 30 and other problems associated with diabetes start taking hold.

[Chris Hogg]

And a diet rich in vegetables is rich in carbohydrates - not good for diabetics. How they're supposed to manage without the meat or dairy that normally provide a significant proportion of the calorie intake in a reduced-carbohydrate diet, remains to be explained.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Around £160/MWh with backup and grid - about three times the price of gas

[williamwright]

Why is it waste? If that's what someone wants to do it's up to them. Who are you to say it's waste?

Bill

[Fredxx]

It does if the mains from a 13A socket won't perform the correct handshake with the car for the on-board charge to accept power.

You really haven't thought this through.

It's quite easy. Others here have suggested ways. Rather than having a closed mind, you would do well to read them.

[Fredxx]

Once a year is sufficient to catch anyone out.

Most cars won't run if you do that. Some use the ABS sensors.

They could pay by instalments. It is a choice.

Quite. Most road charging is notoriously inefficient but here to stay.

Another meter would be a trivial requirement to car owners who charge through their home supply. Many won't be able to.

[Fredxx]

That doesn't mean there won't be one imposed on car owners, f****it.

I have, you are the one who is myopic to potential ways of taxing power for road use.

Only because you don't want them to. You're dead against duty on power used for road use?

Where there's a will, there is always a way.

[Paul]

That's easily sorted.

As the health system overloads, the wait time extends exponentially.

It means you die, before your "treatment" reaches a conclusion.

The treatment may be free, but nobody said how many centuries it might take.

Paul

[Ian Jackson]

Someone will hack the system, and you'll be able to buy an (illegal) in-line black box that provides the required handshake.

You really haven't thought this through. ;o))

[alan_m]

Which usually disconnects the speedometer. With so many speed cameras in the UK the cost of speeding, including the cost of points on the driving licence, could exceed the cost of the tax you are trying to avoid. As a declarable motoring offence the cost of the car insurance would increase.

While it may trivial to disconnect the odometer in existing cars the vast majority of drivers would not do it.

If road pricing was based on odometer readings more likely there would be constant roadside monitoring of the data and driving past the monitoring points with the same odometer reading may give the authorities the clue that you have disabled the mileage logging, resulting in an instant fine for the registered keeper through the post. If caught at the roadside, the car confiscated and crushed.

[Theo]

Older hybrids were too keen to use regen and allowed their friction brakes to become rusty, leading to rusty discs and siezed calipers. Newer ones understand this, and activate the friction brakes enough to mitigate the problem.

I would expect your EV already handles this in software, so assuming you drive it at all it will probably keep the friction braking system in good order for you.

Theo

[NY]

Depends whether the tax which is currently raised from petrol/diesel fuel duty and from vehicle excise duty (annual "car tax") should be continue to be levied on drivers of powered vehicles, or whether the government wants to change to levy it on everyone (including people who don't drive). Such a big change is a political decision.

Taxing cars on distance driven is a good idea, but it would involve retro-fitting the recording and reporting technology on all existing vehicles, and would require a network of detecting stations. And we, the punters, would have to pay for the mechanism of *collecting* the tax, which is a very difficult one for governments to "sell" to the population.

Maybe the per-mile taxing would only apply to new cars built after a certain date, and older ones would continue forever to pay a fixed annual cost which depends on CO2-emissions banding, along with cars that are too old to have been CO2-certified.

[Steve Walker]

But many poorer households will not have two cars and will only be able to to afford older vehicles, meaning that the reduced range may well be a big problem for them.

[alan_m]

My car's inbuilt sat nav doesn't display the speed. It does display the speed limit but that is dependant on timely updates. Near where I live they changed the average speed limit (average speed camera limits) from

70mph to 50mph and despite an update to the sat nav since it still shows 70mph. Many UK motorways now have variable speed limits which can change minute by minute based on traffic flow/congestion/accidents etc.

[tim...]

though you've got a small enough population for a single fixed charge to be a sellable political proposition

It's not going to be a popular method of charging in the UK

[bert]

Older people make a net contribution to the economy - go look it up.

[Fredxx]

Depends how you look at it. Few 'older people' provide a service that increases the wealth of the country. If anything they tend to be parasitic in nature.

If you call being fed, clothed and having their arse wiped is making a net contribution to the economy then perhaps you have a point.

[williamwright]

You seem to think that everyone over 65 is severely disabled and unable to contribute to society. Many members of this group are living proof that you are wrong. Frankly I think your remark betrays your ignorance.

Bill

[bert]

Very few people provide a service which adds to the wealth of the country.

Go look it up. You will be old eventually.

[williamwright]

At the very end, yes. But you said, 'older people', not people at death's door. My dad gave 30 years of work to the community then he took a year to die. He was good value after he 'retired'.

Supporting others, helping their children in all their endeavours (which makes them more productive), community work, charity work... At 72 years of age I am extremely busy with all the above and the benefit to the economy must be enormous.

Bill