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#Post#: 19418--------------------------------------------------
Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe?
By: MartinSR Date: September 12, 2019, 3:18 pm
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The first time I came across it was when I saw the large green
circles on windshields of the used cars some of my compatriots
like to import from Germany. This spring I ordered one for my
car, because we were travelling to Amsterdam with our friends
and I didn't like the idea of getting a penalty ticket for
entering any town in Germany (in order to eat a lunch or for
some other typical tourist reason). On this occasion I installed
the Green Zones app, and discovered that many other countries
started to create such zones. For some of them you need a
sticker on your windshield (like "Umweltplakette" in Germany)
while the other use different concepts. Some of them are open
for all cars meeting the low-pollution standard (class "6" in
Europe), for the others you have to pay (especially when you
have a Diesel engine), some of them are... let's say closed on
Mondays and Wednesdays. When you travel in Europe by car and
don't check all towns you want to visit, you may get a few
tickets to pay, a few hundreds Euro each. Not because of the
fact your car doesn't meet the requirements - only because you
haven't ordered the sticker or haven't registered in their
database.
In the beginning of this week my son went to Antwerp (B) by car
with his friends. The decision was rather quick one so he had no
time to order the German sticker for his car. So I advised him
not to leave the highway in Germany. Before getting to Antwerp
he called me and asked to check in the internet about zones in
Belgium. Good move! In Belgium you have to register your car
online in their database. There are cameras in Antwerp and
Brussels which check it and may fine you by 150-350€. The more
interesting thing is that when you register your car for
entering Antwerp it DOESN'T mean you can go to Brussels, because
each town has its own rules.
I'm not against the limitations of the pollution in bigger
towns, but it becomes a nightmare for a tourist. You can leave
your car on a P+R parking and use the public transport... but
you have to enter the zone to get to the parking. You can't just
drop your car on a highway and walk into the town.
If someone wanted to travel around the west of Europe,
theoretically he would have to purchase several green zone
stickers, highway payment stickers for some country, highway
payment electronic devices and register online in dozens of
databases. The windshield of your car would be completely
covered with stickers.
When you add different speed limits to obey and different
mandatory car equipment in different countries (like e.g yellow
jacket in one and orange in the other) it makes travelling
across Europe in your car very risky.
To end a story of my son journey. He called me today on his way
back, and asked me to check if it is a green zone in Wuppertal,
because his travel companion has some German ancestry and wished
to visit his grandma there. Unfortunately I had to answer him -
there is a zone there too, the grandma must wait for another
occasion.
#Post#: 19421--------------------------------------------------
Re: Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe
?
By: NealC Date: September 13, 2019, 8:22 am
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Ridiculous. What a power grab. They really don't want you to
use your car in Europe do they?
I am sure some American political idiots are looking at this and
rubbing their hands with glee.
#Post#: 19428--------------------------------------------------
Re: Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe
?
By: Chizuko hanji Date: September 13, 2019, 9:22 am
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I don't know much about cars, but I heard Diesel engine is not
good for the environment and purchasing electric cars are
recommended in some countries like China and India.
I've read some articles in Japanese. It says,
"Currently, diesel engine vehicles sold in Japan have the same
level of cleanliness as gasoline vehicles. Please wipe the
inside of the muffler of a diesel engine car with a tissue for a
test. So much less soot than gasoline cars."
I'm not sure this fact is worth trust because I don't drive.
Environment issues are always controversial.
The Green zone? Isn't it Red zone for the drivers who will have
to get tickets? ;)
#Post#: 19440--------------------------------------------------
Re: Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe
?
By: MartinSR Date: September 14, 2019, 3:38 am
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I really don't know what to think about modern diesel engines.
We had a Diesel car once and I remember it was burning
ridiculously low amounts of fuel comparing to standard
(gasoline) car. Now I have a hybrid car with very low fuel
consumption, but not as low as that Diesel.
On the other hand I remember the exhaustion gases from the
Diesel engine were so unpleasant that I avoided entering the
garage with the back of the car.
The opinions you can read in internet are contradictory.
My son eventually registered for both Antwerp and Brussels, and
found a point where he could purchase the German sticker. But I
think it would be much better if these rules were the same for
the whole EU. If one country or the other doesn't feel the need
of limiting pollution in its towns, it's not a problem, but
everyone should have a possibility to get the sticker while
registering a new car in any European country, and this sticker
should be valid for all countries. It would be much easier for
everyone.
The thing more ridiculous I read is that most of these
ecology-friendly West European towns, plan to limit the allowed
traffic to electric cars only in 2030. I have seen a lot of
charging stations there, but not so much. And I afraid that
poorer countries, like mine, would be excluded from
possibilities of travelling to the West then. Let's say that I
will be able to buy the electric car with comparable amount of
money I spent for the hybrid (Now it's nor possible, but with
the technology development it may be). Now I have no electricity
in my rented garage, no charging stations at work or even on my
way to work. I doubt it will change soon in my country. And I'm
not sure about the real ecological benefits, while almost all of
our electricity is made by burning the coal.
#Post#: 19441--------------------------------------------------
Re: Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe
?
By: Aliph Date: September 14, 2019, 6:03 am
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This seems very complicated to me. I do not drive around in a
car when in Europe. But I am not supposed to talk about my
trips, some users here do not like it.
#Post#: 19445--------------------------------------------------
Re: Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe
?
By: MartinSR Date: September 14, 2019, 6:28 am
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[quote author=Nobody, a fake and a liar
link=topic=1366.msg19441#msg19441 date=1568458994]
This seems very complicated to me. I do not drive around in a
car when in Europe.
[/quote]
Well. I haven't seen any information about the Green Zones in
your country. The problem for any potential tourist coming to it
in the car is, that he has to pay for the whole year of using
motorways, even if he comes for a couple of days. At least it
was like that when I checked it last time ;)
#Post#: 19447--------------------------------------------------
Re: Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe
?
By: Aliph Date: September 14, 2019, 6:38 am
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[quote author=MartinSR link=topic=1366.msg19445#msg19445
date=1568460494]
[quote author=Nobody, a fake and a liar
link=topic=1366.msg19441#msg19441 date=1568458994]
This seems very complicated to me. I do not drive around in a
car when in Europe.
[/quote]
Well. I haven't seen any information about the Green Zones in
your country. The problem for any potential tourist coming to it
in the car is, that he has to pay for the whole year of using
motorways, even if he comes for a couple of days. At least it
was like that when I checked it last time ;)
[/quote]
It’s still like that. Motorways are toll free unlike in Italy
and it’s only a drive through country, though I think it’s
heaven on earth. The whole summer foreign cars heading south
block the Highways, it seems logical that they also contribute a
little bit to the maintenance. One can buy the sticker for the
tax in any shop on the highway, it’s valid for the year. So it
isn’t difficult.
#Post#: 19450--------------------------------------------------
Re: Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe
?
By: MartinSR Date: September 14, 2019, 7:05 am
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[quote author=Nobody, a fake and a liar
link=topic=1366.msg19447#msg19447 date=1568461083]
[quote author=MartinSR link=topic=1366.msg19445#msg19445
date=1568460494]
[quote author=Nobody, a fake and a liar
link=topic=1366.msg19441#msg19441 date=1568458994]
This seems very complicated to me. I do not drive around in a
car when in Europe.
[/quote]
Well. I haven't seen any information about the Green Zones in
your country. The problem for any potential tourist coming to it
in the car is, that he has to pay for the whole year of using
motorways, even if he comes for a couple of days. At least it
was like that when I checked it last time ;)
[/quote]
It’s still like that. Motorways are toll free unlike in Italy
and it’s only a drive through country, though I think it’s
heaven on earth. The whole summer foreign cars heading south
block the Highways, it seems logical that they also contribute a
little bit to the maintenance. One can buy the sticker for the
tax in any shop on the highway, it’s valid for the year. So it
isn’t difficult.
[/quote]
I agree it is one of the simplest way to pay the highway tax. I
even heard that it is not very expensive comparing to the yearly
cost of using highways in other countries. I only mean that when
someone just wants to spend a few hours or days in your country,
has to pay for the whole year. And this cost is much higher than
e.g. 10-days vignette in Austria. Maybe it is a way to reduce
this summer transit traffic that you mentioned.
#Post#: 19453--------------------------------------------------
Re: Green Zones... do they spoil the joy of travelling in Europe
?
By: NealC Date: September 14, 2019, 8:13 am
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[quote author=Nobody, a fake and a liar
link=topic=1366.msg19441#msg19441 date=1568458994]
This seems very complicated to me. I do not drive around in a
car when in Europe. But I am not supposed to talk about my
trips, some users here do not like it.
[/quote]
Sometimes people can be silly. I, for one, love to hear about
your trips :-)
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