Driver WARNING - Doing this could land you £80 fine and emit dangerous levels of emissions
A COMMON driver habit could land motorists in the UK a fine of £80 and also produces enough emissions to fill two jumbo jets over the course of a year.
Drivers are being warned about a common habit which emits significant harmful emissions and could land them a fine.
Engine idling is the process of leaving your car’s engine to run while the vehicle is stationary.
This usually happens when a driver is waiting to pick someone up.
It is incredibly damaging however and could have significant effects on the environment and individual’s health.
With the new school term approaching, ClickMechanic, an online marketplace for car repair, decided to highlight the effects of engine idling while on the school run.
Their research found that the excess fumes produced could fill two Jumbo Jets over the course of a year.
And drivers in Central London can be penalised for leaving their engine to idle with an £80.
There are now calls from health experts including Public Health England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to introduce ‘no idling zones’ outside schools, hospitals and care homes to protect vulnerable individuals.
LSX Chief Executive: Smoother driving can reduce emissions
Emissions produced by vehicles contribute to the premature death of up to 40,000 people every year.
Leaving an engine to idle wastes fuel, costs money and adds to the pollution
According to Rule 123 of The Highway Code: ‘You must not leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road.’
Despite this, many drivers are still idle engine offenders during the school run and are unaware of its dangers.
The City of Westminster has introduced a #DontBeIdle pledge to reinforce the capital’s commitment to improving the air quality.
The #DontBeIdle pledge also found that leaving the engine to idle for one minute can produce enough exhaust to fill up to 150 balloons.
Considering an average idling speed of 800 rpm in a 2 litre, 4 cylinder engine, the average car will produce 800 litres or 0.8 cubic metres of exhaust fumes per minute of idling.
As such, idling for 10 minutes on every school day equates to 1,520m³ of excess fumes a year, which is enough to fill two Jumbo Jets.
Even idling for just five minutes per school day will be total to 760m³ of exhaust fumes per year, equivalent to over 23 shipping containers.
Those drivers who idle for 20 minutes or more every day will produce an additional 3,040m³ of emissions (overfilling an Olympic-sized swimming pool) – and that’s not including any idling at weekends or holidays.
Just switching off your engine while waiting for someone will dramatically improve the air quality in the country and reduce the negative health effects it has on people.
Andrew Jervis, Co-Founder of ClickMechanic, said: “Switching off your car’s engine whilst you wait at school is a small change which will have a huge impact on our carbon footprint.
“Leaving an engine to idle wastes fuel, costs money and adds to the pollution.
“It also contributes to the potentially harmful emissions around the school and can affect both yourself within the car and those around.
“By putting a stop to this popular habit, drivers in the UK will be taking a step closer to cleaner, safer air.”