This does not mean, however, that the cameras operating today already automatically assert fines on any old diesel car entering Attica or Thessaloniki. The possibility of electronic crossing is technically available, but requires specific legal and operational activation for each infringement category.
What is certain is that the new digital system drastically limits the margins of anonymity on the streets and can, if connected to the Registry Vehicles, turn a simple plate reading into a complete legality check.
Which diesel is banned
The ban on the marketing of older diesel vehicles in Greece is not a new measure. It results from Article 50 of Law 4030/2011, which allowed diesel traffic in Athens and Thessaloniki only for vehicles which meet Euro 5, Euro 6 or later.
Consequently, diesel passenger cars J.E. and the corresponding light trucks Euro 4, Euro 3 or older technology are not allowed to circulate within the designated areas of Athens and Thessaloniki.
The limit shall not be determined solely by the first-release date. There are cars classified in the same period but belong to a different anti-pollution category. The safe element is the Euro specification on the marketing authorisation or resulting from type approval and framework number.
A subsequent amendment limited the relative gross weight limit for light trucks to 3,500 kg, as confirmed in its official document.
One of the most frequent mistakes of the owners is the belief that restrictions concern only the Ring of Athens. They are actually two different regimes.
The Ring regulates access to the centre of the capital, while the ban on old diesel covers a much wider area of Attica and a corresponding zone in Thessaloniki. Therefore, a Euro 4 diesel may move legally in the rest of Greece, but not within the geographical limits where this restriction continues to apply.
In Attica, the limits of the earlier ban extend approximately from Elefsina, Magoula and Tribe to Acharnes, Agios Stefanos, Dionysos, Spata, Koropi, Vari and Varkiza. This means that the measure is not just about some roads of the centre but most of the urban complex.
What new cameras can do
Greece is developing the Single National System of Digital Recording and Management of Traffic Controls and Fines. The project provides for a common digital infrastructure for the recording of infringements, the management of fines and the electronic information of citizens, in accordance with its official description.
At the same time, the Region of Attica has completed installation of 388 cameras at selected nodes. These cameras are primarily designed to record red signal violations rather than automatically impose fines based on the anti-pollution technology of a vehicle. This also refers to her official announcement.
ANPR technology, i.e. automatic identification of plates, can record the registration number and cross-reference it with state databases. Therefore, if the appropriate interconnection is established and the corresponding procedure is established, a Euro 4 diesel that enters a restricted zone may be detected without requiring an on-the-spot inspection by a police officer.
To date, however, no official decision has been made public confirming that the new Attica cameras have been specifically activated for the automatic certificate of infringements in an old diesel. Therefore, a clear distinction should be made between what the system can technically carry out and what has already been formally implemented.
The biggest change is not only on the cameras but on the ability to combine different registers. A sign may be obtained if the vehicle is insured, if it has been passed in time by KTEOs, if traffic charges have been paid or if it has been declared in digital immobility.
Thus, a car recorded for a red signal breach or speed overrun may at the same time appear as uninsured, without KTEO or still. It does not mean that all these sanctions are automatically imposed by each camera, but that the digital intersection makes detection much easier than in the past.
What applies to insurance
The illegal movement of an old diesel in a restricted area does not automatically mean that the insurance company is exempt from any obligation in the event of an accident.
Compulsory civil liability insurance is intended to protect the injured third parties. The insurance must in principle address the third person’s claim in accordance with the insurance policy and the relevant legislation. Any right of the company to then turn against the insured person depends on the legal exceptions, the terms of the contract and the actual circumstances of the accident.
Therefore, it is not true that the presence of a Euro 4 diesel in Attica or Thessaloniki automatically cancels the entire insurance coverage. A different issue is the compensation of the vehicle's own losses from voluntary coverage, such as mixed insurance, where the specific conditions of the contract must be considered.
The dpf enters the microscope
The anti-pollution category of the licence is not sufficient if the vehicle has been illegally converted. Particular importance acquires the DPF microparticle filter, which several owners remove when blocking, in order to avoid cleaning or replacement costs.
A Euro 5 or Euro 6 diesel from which the DPF has been removed or deactivated no longer responds to its approved factory status. The stricter control of microparticles in CTOs can limit this practice by identifying cases where conventional control of exhaust opacity was not easily revealed.
In hundreds of European cities there are Low Emission Zones in which access depends on the Euro category, the type of fuel or the existence of a specific environmental signal. In several cases surveillance is done with sign recognition cameras and fines are sent to the owner without prior road control.
The requirements differ considerably from country to country. Denmark, for example, imposes specific requirements for diesels in the low-emission zones of Copenhagen and other major cities, while different local regulations apply in France, Belgium, Italy and Germany. Drivers travelling abroad must check before leaving the rules of each city, as there is no uniform status throughout Europe. The European basis provides comprehensive information.
What the owners should do
Anyone with an old diesel must check the exact anti-pollution category in the marketing authorisation and not rely only on the year of construction or the assurances of the previous owner. Particular attention should be paid to imported second-hand vehicles where the type-approval and authenticity of the data must be confirmed.
The old diesel is not forbidden to circulate throughout Greece. If it is Euro 4 or earlier, however, it cannot legally move in the designated zones of Athens and Thessaloniki. The provision has been in force for years, even if its supervision has been limited to date.
The transition to digital controls shows that the time at which such violations passed easily unnoticed is nearing its end. The crucial next step is for the State to clearly announce which violations are controlled by each camera, when the automatic intersection of the pollutant class is activated, and what opposition procedure the owner will have in the event of incorrect recording.
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