Drivers could be charged £20 if they run their engines while stuck in traffic. Motorists could face £20 spot fines if they leave their engines running while stuck in traffic. Traffic wardens will be able to issue the penalties – after a warning – in a bid to cut down on pollution.
A pilot scheme is due to be launched in January in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, and will be expanded if it proves successful. West Sussex Council said it would target areas where exhaust emissions build up unnecessarily, such as rail crossings and town centres.
But drivers branded the plans yet another round of the war on the motorist. The AA pointed out that to switch off an engine and start up again within a minute actually uses more fuel than letting it idle.
A car engine is at its most inefficient when it is idling, the AA said, but turning off the engine is not necessarily an improvement. A spokesman explained: ‘In terms of emissions, the catalytic converter only works properly when it’s hot, and it cools down when idling. ‘This means emission levels of gases and hydrocarbons will rise.
‘Our own fuel consumption tests showed that a car uses somewhere between 0.36 and 0.78 litres an hour when idling – so that’s no miles per litre, but plenty of carbon dioxide and more toxic emissions.’ An hour of idling can produce around 2.36kg of carbon dioxide – the ‘greenhouse gas’ blamed by scientists for global warming. But switching an engine off is not necessarily a better option, the AA warns.
A burst of fuel is needed to start an engine, so switching it off and then on again seconds later actually uses more fuel than idling and produces more emissions. The AA said: ‘For less than a minute it is not fuel efficient to switch off because you will use more fuel starting up than you will save. It only becomes fuel efficient to switch off if you are going to be stopped for a minute or more
– from dailymail
But why we still run these dirty stupid technology? Why can’t we move more efficient and advanced technologies like electric vehicles? For idling it does not require energy.
Automobile efficiency
Detroit Electric