Such stats and anecdotes over the popularity of ageing vehicles have not escaped the attention of the Department for Transport. This summer, it quietly announced that it would consult on its “proposals” to heavily crack down on emissions “throughout a vehicle’s life”. Breaches “can result in fines of between £1,000 and an unlimited amount”, it added.

This is game-changing stuff. Right now, vehicles that meet Euro 5, Euro 6 and Euro VI emissions targets are under no obligation to keep the emission kit they were fitted with at the factory intact, or indeed in situ. This means newer, supposedly cleaner stuff get a free pass to have their DPFs ripped out, AdBlue systems bypassed, cats binned or their software tweaked, potentially resulting in them producing more muck, all perfectly legally. Daft, isn’t it? Older, cheaper vehicles get hammered by the current rules while newer, pricier ones dodge them. The fix on the table is that every vehicle sold after 2001 would have to keep any factory-fitted emissions gear and software exactly as it left the factory, meaning it pollutes no more on the road today than it did the day it was built.

The big problem with this crucially important public consultation period ‘launched’ with a whimper weeks ago: it ended on 6 September. I’ve politely pointed out to the DfT that the summer season – when millions of drivers, industry folk and others struggled to cope with the UK’s chaotic road and public transport networks, bored kids were on school holidays, there were record heatwaves and families were trying to get away from it all on vacation – was an inappropriate time to consult. 

So for these and other reasons I’ve formally requested that the deadline be extended – to 6 October, perhaps. When the DfT gets back to me with an answer, I’ll pass it on to you.