Roll over to preview

This is always the weird issue of the year for me. At the time of writing, there’s still a week to go until Christmas day, yet it will be well into the second week of January before you guys read this. What will have happened during that time, and how out of date will my words be? All I can do is talk about things the way they are right now, and one recent announcement by the government caught my attention as it will affect us all, not just as hot rodders, but as motorists in general. As of October this year, it will no longer be a legal requirement to display a tax disc in the windscreen of your vehicle. You will still need to pay for the privilege of using your car on the roads (unless your vehicle is classed as Historic of course), it’s just that you will no longer have that oh-so-familiar piece of paper as a receipt. Undoubtedly, this is a cost saving exercise and, with the now widespread use of ANPR, there is little need for authorities to visually inspect tax discs. On face value it’s a sensible decision, being cynical though I can’t help wondering if it’s the first stage of a longer term plan – maybe doing away with road rent altogether and replacing it with increased duty on fuel? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. At least this abolition of tax discs will improve visibility for those of you driving chopped cars.