Yes, there are those who use a tank as a means of transport….
The Climate Change Law establishes that all municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants will have to restrict traffic to the most polluting cars in 2023. This limitation refers, above all, to vehicles without an environmental label; but, as curious as it may be, it does allow this World War II tank to access the Low Emission Zones (ZBE).
For Manuel Arenas, driving a tank is something usual. He has long since registered his as a historic vehicle and, as such, must fulfill a series of obligations such as passing the ITV every four years.
A tank with access to the LEZ
Manuela Arenas’s is a Ford M8 Greyhound registered in 1943. Every four years it undergoes the pertinent tests at the Espiritu Santo ITV station in A Coruña. There they check the condition of the wheels, do a braking test, verify that the body has no deficiencies, that all the lights work correctly…
The state of the Coruña tank is perfect. It has registration to circulate with the same rights and duties as any other historical vehicle. Its owner says that the main drawback for the DGT to grant it the historic vehicle registration was the cannon. He got it after a series of operations that left him totally useless.
Like any historical car, this tank can circulate in any ZBE; even by the Low Emissions Zones of Special Protection (ZBEEP) of Madrid, which are among the strictest in the city.
The tank weighs eight tons and uses a Hercules JXD six-cylinder petrol engine. It is approved to reach a maximum speed of 90 km/h on the road; but its owner affirms that at that speed the consumption is too high, so it does not usually exceed 50 km/h.
