It is a little known fact that running a car engine while not in traffic is illegal. Another little known fact is that turning off engines while stationary, even for a very short time, significantly reduces emissions of toxic exhaust fumes and climate-changing greenhouse gases.
Recently the City of London Police began enforcing the law against running engines while parked, and there are plans to extend this to more London boroughs - unfortunately, Enfield is not on the list.
An online petition on change.org is addressed to the Secretary of State for Transport and the Mayor of London, as follows:
Police Existing Engine Idling Law in London and UK
There is an air pollution crisis in cities around the world, a problem which the World Health Organisation now claims is killing millions. London breached annual pollution limits in the first week of 2016. Scientists are now estimating that more than 9,000 people a year in London are dying of nitrogen dioxide and small particulate pollution.
Stationary vehicles cause more pollution than moving ones. Turning your engine off for just one minute contributes to cleaner air
The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002 makes it illegal to run any vehicle when stationary. Sadly this is a law which is little known about and rarely enforced. The penalty for doing so is £20.00.
On Friday 15 2015 Westminster City Council announced a new 'Air Force' of just two traffic wardens to issue on the spot fines, concentrating in the highly polluted Marylebone area.
This petition asks for a nationwide initiative, using traffic wardens and their powers to issue fixed penalty notices to police the existing idling law aggressively everywhere. Why, after all, are we paying £65 for other traffic or parking offences but poisoning ourselves and our children with no penalty?
Source: www.change.org/p/police-existing-engine-idling-law-throughout-london-and-uk
