That headline? It’s not hyperbole
Paris vehicle pollution sticker scheme comes into force
Police checks last week found only one in 50 vehicles stopped had sticker despite them being available since July
Drivers in Paris must display an anti-pollution sticker in their vehicles or face fines in the latest attempt by the French authorities to improve air quality.
The sticker scheme, which became mandatory on Monday, includes cars, lorries, motorcycles and scooters, and bans some vehicles from the city during weekdays.
It follows numerous spikes in pollution in which smog has descended over the French capital, forcing traffic reduction measures and the introduction of free public transport on the worst days.
The six different coloured Crit’Air (air criteria) stickers indicate the age and cleanliness of a vehicle. Certain vehicles – including petrol and diesel cars registered before 1996; vans registered before 1997; pre-2000 scooters and motorbikes; and lorries, trucks and buses from before 2001 – are banned from the city between 8am and 8pm.
Now, part of this is understandable. The air pollution being considered isn’t just CO2, but other pollutants, such as lead. Wait, lead? Yes, the story mentions lead. But, leaded fuels have already been banned.
But, really, to have police officers doing this? Really? Perhaps they could be more concerned with things like cars being torched by “youths” (meaning young Muslim illegal aliens), violence (from the same), terrorism (from the same), sexual assaults (from the same), and just ordinary crime
Here’s where it gets more interesting
City hall plans include closing roads to traffic and pedestrianising areas of the capital as well as an eventual ban on all diesel vehicles.
Wait, weren’t we told that diesel vehicles were super awesome? Of course, we saw what happened with Volkswagen and their emissions cheating, and the EPA just slapped Fiat Chrysler for doing the same on two different models. Well, in the article right next to the green police one, we learn
Oslo will ban diesel cars from the road for at least two days this week to combat rising air pollution, angering some motorists after they were urged to buy diesel cars a few years ago.
Huh.
You know who is hurt the most by all this? Poor people who cannot afford the luxury of a State Approved Green Vehicle.
So now the NewCons want to bring pollution back!
Teach thinks the police shouldn’t worry about air pollution should spend more time harrassing folks whose religion he despises. Scratch a NewCon, find a fascist.
At least the gendarmerie are having to actually look for the stickers. In Pennsylvania, the Geheime Staatspolizei are buying Automated License Plate Readers for all police. As you are driving down the road, if you pass within range of a police car, it will automatically scan your license plate, to see if your automobile registration is current. Features soon to be added: cross-checks to see if your automobile inspection and insurance are up to date. After that, they’ll probably add features to see if the driver has a concealed weapons permit or is behind on his child support payments.
The КомитeÑ‚ гоÑудaÑ€Ñтвенной безопaÑноÑти and Stasi would have loved this technology! And to think: we have a Republican-controlled state legislature and a Democratic governor to thank for this.
No, they shouldn’t. They should worry about crime. You know, their job? Not to be nags. Hire civil servants if you want to do this.
You’d think they would have better things to do, like,,,. uh, I don’t know, finding and killing Muslim terrorists…
Dane,
The problem goes much deeper than that.
Because the data collected by the police is available through state equivalents of the Freedom of Information Act, people outside of law enforcement can use the data to track you, find out where you work, your travel habits, when you leave for work and come home, etc.
It opens your life up to criminals much more than people realize.