Am I being thick? So soon if I drive over/under the Dartford crossing they note my numberplate and post me a bill (with a threatening letter of dire consequences for being on holiday a few weeks or what ever, presumably). This is a better system than collecting money on the day? How much do the Belgians etc pay in this scenario? How do we charge all the dodgy cars not registered, nicked or from a county East of Middlesex, fnar, fnar.
The Severn crossing charges to go into Wales, but its free to come out. Seems to work OK as its a long deviation to go up to Gloucester and the next bridge. Would that many folk opt to go into town to cross and back out again?
I think the DVLA has a record of wheelplan despite the tax class changing to Historic. They certainly make a big fuss over a change in wheelplan. More than if you rebuild you car with a new chassis, as it suggests an engineering problem deviating from an accepted design. You need to be ready with your proofs to avoid an expensive trip to the clipboards. So I assume the ability to catch these actions means they can tell what size the Historic vehicle is and charge it as Car, Van, Lorry or Locomotive automatically.
