I’ll never surrender my car

I got a letter this week informing me how much it would cost to renew my car insurance: £2,671.47, up from £1,587.86. It could be worse, I suppose. Owners of Range Rovers tell me that the cost of insuring one in London for a year is about the same as the replacement value of the car. But even so. This is a seven-year-old VW Touran we’re talking about. Not the first choice of London’s crack regiment of car thieves.

The really depressing thing is this quote came before I’d notified the insurer of the three points Caroline has been given for going 26mph on the Finchley Road, which is now a 20mph zone. She couldn’t do the speed-awareness course because she’d already used up her one life – although the course may have to be renamed if people are given the option of doing it after being caught ‘speeding’ at 26mph. I remember when you could be pulled over for going that slowly. I look forward to the remake of Speed, the Keanu Reeves thriller, only this time it’s set in London and the runaway bus is wreaking havoc because it cannot go under 20mph. In the not-so-thrilling climax, the bus inches towards the Finchley Road at 26mph, gradually overtaking motorists observing the speed limit.

I’m thinking seriously about giving up the car, and not just because of the insurance cost. My seven-year-old VW is compatible with the Euro 6 emissions rules for diesel cars, which means I don’t have to pay the Ulez charge. But it surely won’t be long before I do – possibly as soon as next year, when the Euro 7 emissions standard comes into force. And even if I manage to dodge that bullet, Ealing council is intending to turn Acton into a 20-minute neighbourhood.