Crit-Air and other European pollution issues

[xsaab]

I have just applied for the French Crit-Air sticker for the car window. As the the stickers have only been introduced into France very recently there is a backlog of 3 to 4 weeks in printing the stickers. (I was informed by the agency that is issuing my sticker).

In spite of the great EU Bureaucracy enforcing common practices in member countries, the EU has not got this process organised for pollution stickers so each country still uses it's own set of stickers instead of a common set of stickers and standards.

if you plan to go to some cities in France, Germany, Austria on a car trip you will need several stickers.

I have found that I can get stickers from
https://www.crit-air.fr/en.html

https://www.tolltickets.com/default.aspx?lang=en-GB
they do not process the French stickers but do other documents

and
https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/en/

for the French - I think this cheaper than the crit-air location.

Enjoy

[Billggski]

So.... You want the eu to enforce uniformity across member states?

[xsaab]

I thought that was the guiding principle of the EU covering open borders, car crash testing, any thing to minimise the difference between the member states.

[Grimble]

Originally Posted by xsaab

I thought that was the guiding principle of the EU covering open borders, car crash testing, any thing to minimise the difference between the member states.

And maximise the cost and bureaucracy for the consumer.

[960kg]

Just received my Crit`Air certificate and i have a number 3 out of 5, the best being 5.

I suppose being V6 3 litre diesel that is not too bad seeing as the motor is 2006, Mercedes are good at modern technology and keeping emissions low.

Don`t worry if you need the certificate quick mine has only taken about 5 days.

[tt82]

The RAC would beg to differ, they have 5 being the worst!

What are the French 'clean air' stickers?

The French clean air stickers - called Crit'Air vignettes - are part of a six-category sticker system that applies to all motor vehicles in certain areas to identify what emissions they produce.

The six categories have six colours that denote how heavily polluting the vehicle is according to its Euro emissions standard, ranging from green (Crit’Air 1, electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles) for the cleanest, to black (Crit’Air 6 mostly older, diesel cars) for the dirtiest.

P.s. The ratings are also based on the European Emissions Standards that the vehicle is designed to meet, not the actual car itself. A 185bhp D5 would also receive a Level 3 sticker.

[Joe of Loath]

Originally Posted by Grimble

And maximise the cost and bureaucracy for the consumer.

Doesn't performing the same action once across a couple of dozen countries rather than performing the same action in each country separately actually mean less bureaucracy? I mean, duplication of effort and all.

[960kg]

Originally Posted by tt82

The RAC would beg to differ, they have 5 being the worst!



P.s. The ratings are also based on the European Emissions Standards that the vehicle is designed to meet, not the actual car itself. A 185bhp D5 would also receive a Level 3 sticker.

Sorry about that .......i was the wrong way round.

Only the French could get the numbers backwards, have a look here.

[tt82]

The vignette, or sticker system has been introduced to reduce the emissions output in larger cities, so on days where certain cities are at risk of reaching their Euro emissions limit, heavily polluting vehicles can be refused entrance based on the Crit’Air sticker they are displaying on the windscreen.

It seems like it's going to need a small army of bureaucrats to enforce this if they are stopping people at the entrances to the cities to check their vignette. Experience from driving through Switzerland suggest that the traffic jams caused by slowing motorist down to check it, will cause more pollution than they'll save!

[xsaab]

I have just received an email to say that my Crit Air sticker is in the post - so just over a month (assuming it arrives next week)