Comments on: We don’t pay to drive…. ANYWHERE

By: Jon Orcutt

Jon Orcutt — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 19:02:00 +0000

The Germans in fact were resisting at a time when the gov't had a Green as foreign minister - go figure.

It's worth checking out recent polls about the freedoms contained in the first amendment - a lot of Americans indeed think one of the 5 freedoms there is the right to drive a car.

By: David Sucher

David Sucher — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:18:00 +0000

Well the Germans do also seem to be resistant...Here's a very interesting page on the legal issues:

http://www.barder.com/ephems/2005/10/24/diplomatic-immunity-and-the-london-congestion-charge/

By: aaron

aaron — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:57:00 +0000

David,

I interviewed a Transport for London higher-up a few weeks back and he said that the US embassy was the only exception he could think of.

By: steveo

steveo — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:19:00 +0000

I wonder if American Embassy employees also jump the turnstile when they take the Tube.

By: David Sucher

David Sucher — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 18:04:00 +0000

It's my understanding that all (or most?) of the diplomats from every country refuse to pay. Is that incorrect?

By: David

David — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 03:11:00 +0000

Brooklyn Borough President Markowitz employs exactly the same semantics to oppose East River Bridge tolls: "It's a 'tax' on Brooklynites"!

By: Disputo

Disputo — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:54:00 +0000

The US ambassador ridiculously claims the charge is a "tax" and not a "toll", and diplomats are not required to pay "taxes".

By: AD

AD — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:46:00 +0000

Wow. Great piece of news, Aaron. What reason do we give for not paying the congestion charge? Maybe this is analogous to ambassadors to the U.N. who are diplomatically immune to NYC traffic tickets.