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I'm in Northern Ireland, and while I can't speak for the rest of the UK or Europe, I know the stats put diesel vehicles at almost half in Europe as a whole. It

I'm in Northern Ireland, and while I can't speak for the rest of the UK or Europe, I know the stats put diesel vehicles at almost half in Europe as a whole. It sounds absurd, but I can see the increase in Diesel soot on the roads and pavements here, and more often than not, it can be smelt from passing traffic. To be fair, that I've become more aware of it is making me notice it more - but I live now not so far from where I grew up and it's clear how much difference the last 10-15 years have made to the state of the local environment. It's disgusting, and no doubt a massive public health crisis 10-20 years from now in the UK, where we already lead the world in lung disease.

jeffwass 10y ago
I live in London, and really noticed the effects of diesel exhaust (particularly buses along busy roads) on my breathing in the past couple years. I've lived here for over 8 years. It's the NoX that I notice much more than the soot. I get breathing difficulties after walking past buses (the sharp smell of the NoX fumes is pretty noticeable). I've had bronchitis twice in the past two years. I've even started changing my walking routes to avoid busy roads entirely due to the diesel pollution. What adds insult to injury is that many of these buses advertise as "Enviro" because their Diesel engines produce marginally less CO2 than a gasoline engine.
- 7952 10y ago
  People seem to block out the smell and just not notice, when they do it becomes obvious. Maybe a campaign of warning signs would help. Target areas with high pollution with "Danger" signs that outline the risks.
gambiting 10y ago
It's made worse by the fact that manufacturers don't offer, or offer worse petrol engines in the UK, pushing buyers towards diesel. For the past 10 years, you couldn't buy a petrol Land Rover in the UK, despite the fact that petrol land rovers are assembled in the Sollihul plant. The Latest Discovery 5 finally has a petrol option, but the Discovery Sport is still only offered with a diesel, despite the fact that the rest of the continent enjoys an excellent Si4 Petrol engine in the same vehicle. It's the same story elsewhere - MB offers probably half of the engines that rest of Europe gets, if there is a petrol option it is hugely underpowered, and diesel is the only way to go.
- awjr 10y ago
  It could be a market perception thing in the UK. "Diesel 4x4s are the best" and petrol versions just don't sell enough to warrant releasing them in the UK.
  - gambiting 10y ago
    But then it's a self fulfilling prophecy,no? You can't buy a petrol 4x4 = petrol 4x4s don't sell = manufacturers don't release them in UK = you can't buy a petrol 4x4.
- scrumper 10y ago
  A big reason for that is that company car tax (which is paid by the beneficiary, not the company) in the UK is significantly lower on diesel vehicles. Fleet buyers are a gigantic part of the market for new cars in the UK and they wield a heavy influence over manufacturers.
- headmelted 10y ago
  I think the bigger scandal is that we continue to incentivize diesels. Obviously no-one wants to admit that they were wrong, but to continue to tax existing diesel vehicles lower because of reasons we now know to be bogus is a disgrace. Diesels need to be taxed MUCH higher than petrols, especially those without AdBlue injection. Long range EVs can't come soon enough. Even still, my next car is a Leaf.
fjrieiekd 10y ago
Diesel can be really nasty, much worse than modern gas cars. Even having a diesel truck in front of me is enough to make me gag. It's one of the things I don't like about Europe or certain Caribbean islands where diesel is very popular. Luckily it's not as popular in North America.

jeffwass 10y ago

I live in London, and really noticed the effects of diesel exhaust (particularly buses along busy roads) on my breathing in the past couple years. I've lived here for over 8 years. It's the NoX that I notice much more than the soot. I get breathing difficulties after walking past buses (the sharp smell of the NoX fumes is pretty noticeable). I've had bronchitis twice in the past two years. I've even started changing my walking routes to avoid busy roads entirely due to the diesel pollution. What adds insult to injury is that many of these buses advertise as "Enviro" because their Diesel engines produce marginally less CO2 than a gasoline engine.

7952 10y ago
People seem to block out the smell and just not notice, when they do it becomes obvious. Maybe a campaign of warning signs would help. Target areas with high pollution with "Danger" signs that outline the risks.

gambiting 10y ago

It's made worse by the fact that manufacturers don't offer, or offer worse petrol engines in the UK, pushing buyers towards diesel. For the past 10 years, you couldn't buy a petrol Land Rover in the UK, despite the fact that petrol land rovers are assembled in the Sollihul plant. The Latest Discovery 5 finally has a petrol option, but the Discovery Sport is still only offered with a diesel, despite the fact that the rest of the continent enjoys an excellent Si4 Petrol engine in the same vehicle. It's the same story elsewhere - MB offers probably half of the engines that rest of Europe gets, if there is a petrol option it is hugely underpowered, and diesel is the only way to go.

awjr 10y ago
It could be a market perception thing in the UK. "Diesel 4x4s are the best" and petrol versions just don't sell enough to warrant releasing them in the UK.
- gambiting 10y ago
  But then it's a self fulfilling prophecy,no? You can't buy a petrol 4x4 = petrol 4x4s don't sell = manufacturers don't release them in UK = you can't buy a petrol 4x4.
scrumper 10y ago
A big reason for that is that company car tax (which is paid by the beneficiary, not the company) in the UK is significantly lower on diesel vehicles. Fleet buyers are a gigantic part of the market for new cars in the UK and they wield a heavy influence over manufacturers.
headmelted 10y ago
I think the bigger scandal is that we continue to incentivize diesels. Obviously no-one wants to admit that they were wrong, but to continue to tax existing diesel vehicles lower because of reasons we now know to be bogus is a disgrace. Diesels need to be taxed MUCH higher than petrols, especially those without AdBlue injection. Long range EVs can't come soon enough. Even still, my next car is a Leaf.

fjrieiekd 10y ago

Diesel can be really nasty, much worse than modern gas cars. Even having a diesel truck in front of me is enough to make me gag. It's one of the things I don't like about Europe or certain Caribbean islands where diesel is very popular. Luckily it's not as popular in North America.