Councillors at Cheshire East Council could soon start issuing fines to drivers who leave their engine idling as a review of the policy is taking place, writes Jonathan Sutton.
This could mean parents waiting to pick up their children outside schools in the borough who refuse to turn their engine off could face a £60 fine.
More than 30 local authorities have adopted anti-idling enforcement legislation, however very few of those authorities have issued fines.
Councillors on Cheshire East’s Highways and Transport Committee are choosing from four options put forward by officers.
Option one is “do nothing”; option two is to run “stop campaigns”, option three is to “adopt legislation only” and option four is to “adopt legislation and continue promotion education campaigns”.
Council officers are recommending the council continue with option one, the “do nothing” approach.
They say that to issue a fine, enforcement officers must ask the driver to turn their engine off.
If the driver refuses only then can a fine be imposed. The council fears this is “very confrontational”.
In Cheshire East, there are currently 12 air quality monitoring zones that have demonstrated a breach of the annual mean concentration for nitrogen dioxide.
The council report states: “The number of Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) has reduced across the borough, suggesting campaigns are effective and progressively changing driver behaviours.
“Additionally, funding is available from central government to support promotion/education campaigns, which means that these campaigns can continue in the future.”
The main target areas of the campaign are schools, buses and taxis.
In a snap survey across 18 schools, enforcement officers observed 15 cases of idling outside eight schools.
In 2020 diffusion monitoring tubes were installed at Crewe, Wilmslow and Macclesfield railway stations.
These all show higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, although the report states this is likely to be associated with increases in traffic following the national lockdown.
RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “Whether it is outside schools, picking up relatives from stations, or in a car park, we can all do our bit by switching off our engines and reducing our emissions.
“Drivers with stop-start technology should also ensure it is engaged which will reduce pollution when waiting at red traffic lights.
“We would support authorities that visibly encourage people to stop engine idling and for those drivers who refuse, we feel a fine is a proportionate response.”
(pic under creative commons licence)
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