With the ban on red diesel coming into effect in April, some countries have been setting up stop points to check on vehicles that shouldn’t be using it.
So far, there have been stop checks set up in:
- England
- Ireland
- Australia
Know of any others? If so, please let us know!
Why are governments checking vehicles for red diesel?
From April, only vehicles that don’t require road use will be able to use red diesel. That mainly covers sectors such as agriculture, fishing, forestry or horticulture.
You can check the full list of allowances and changes on the government website, right here.
However, unless you’re living under a rock, it has been impossible to avoid the news about the soaring costs of fuel. Whilst this is a global problem, some countries have feared that motorists will illegally be using red diesel.
As the government loses out on money in England if this happens, a red dye (hence the term red diesel) has been employed to mark the fuel out. This means you can easily be caught with it if you shouldn’t be using it, especially if you’re stopped at an RSA checkpoint.
What’s the craic?
In Ireland, certain rules for this diesel have been in place since the 1960s. They also use a green dye to identify the fuel.
Authorities use random checks of fuel (called ‘dipping’) to assess whether the diesel in question is being used, by identifying the colour. The penalties in Ireland are also a lot stricter and harsher than in the UK, so you’re not going to want to be found guilty of this.
Very recently, a video of an Irish van driver in a Renault Master went viral. If you haven’t seen it, let us provide a chuckle amidst the havoc of increasing costs.
This particular Renault Master was a fully electric van, but the driver in question still found himself being pulled over for a fuel check. You can watch the video of the start of the interaction on Facebook, linked right here.
Not the smartest move there from the authorities in charge of the checks, but we appreciate the laugh.
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