Signs up for engine idling
This coincides with the return to school after the half term break and will reinforce earlier messages that sitting in a parked vehicle outside a school with the engine idling will not be tolerated.
The new signs are part of Darlington Borough Council’s environmental health team’s Care for Clean Air campaign to encourage motorists not to leave their engine idling whilst their vehicle is stationary. Leaving engines idling whilst waiting for youngsters to finish school is a particular area the team is tackling alongside educating motorists generally. So far, 13 signs have been put in place on lamp posts close to where drivers park up outside schools.
Leaving an engine idling whilst parked up concentrates emissions from the engine and can lead to poor localised air quality. It is estimated that an idling car causes enough emissions to fill 150 balloons with harmful pollutants every minute.
Children especially can be more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution by breathing in the particles emitted and, in some cases, these can be linked to conditions such as asthma and respiratory infections
Children breathe more rapidly than adults so absorb more pollutants. They also breathe closer to the ground and the level of a vehicle exhaust; this is also true for very young children in buggies and prams.
The team has provided schools with information, and it is hoped the Care for Clean Air campaign will encourage parents to switch off their engines. Social media messages and other marketing tools will be used to help drive home this important message to prevent air pollution and protect health.
Councillor Jonathan Dulston, Leader of Darlington Borough Council, said:
“As kids go back to school these signs will act as a timely reminder to parents and carers that they must switch off their engines while parked outside the school gates. It’s a simple action that will help protect the health of our young children and help the environment.
“As the weather improves, hopefully more children will be walking or cycling to school, enjoying the health benefits of exercise as well as saving money and the planet.”
