Motorists who leave engines idling for over a minute face £500 fines

MOTORISTS who leave engines idling for over a minute face £500 fines. A planned crackdown aims to protect children from toxic air at school gates. Commercial delivery drivers who stop to load vans, plus those who wait at taxi ranks and bus stations will be targeted. The current penalty is £20-£80. A source said: “One […]

MOTORISTS who leave engines idling for over a minute face £500 fines.
A planned crackdown aims to protect children from toxic air at school gates.

Alamy

Commercial delivery drivers who stop to load vans, plus those who wait at taxi ranks will be targeted[/caption]

Commercial delivery drivers who stop to load vans, plus those who wait at taxi ranks and bus stations will be targeted.
The current penalty is £20-£80. A source said: “One possibility is to increase instant penalties to about £100 — with fines of about £500 for commercial vehicles or repeat offenders.”
A consultation is expected to launch this summer.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling declared: “We are determined to crack down on drivers who pollute our communities by leaving their engines running, particularly at school gates where our children breathe in this toxic air.

“Putting a stop to idling is an easy way to drive down dangerously high levels of pollution, reducing its impact on the environment and on our health.”

Every minute, an idling car produces enough exhaust emissions to fill 150 balloons with dangerous chemicals including cyanide.
These can trigger health problems from heart and lung disease to strokes and cancer and are particularly damaging to children.
The Government has announced several moves to improve air quality. They include grants to encourage the purchase of cleaner vehicles, a commitment to end the sale of conventional diesel and petrol vehicles by 2040, and the doubling of investment in cycling and walking routes since 2010.

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