Inside this issue you will find a news item on engine idling, where the driver sits in their car with the engine running, parked up. Nothing wrong with that for a short time, but when I am distributing this magazine, I often come across a vehicle with the engine running in a parking bay, only to make my way back ‘to base’, after putting a load of magazines out, passing the same vehicle still with the engine idling. OK they might have switched it off and on again when I wasn’t about but somehow, I don’t think so.
It seems odd with the Jewellery Quarter being wholly in the Birmingham Clean air Zone there is no legislation for switching off a stationary vehicle engine. Some parts of the world do have legislation, and quite hefty fines. And apparently only authorised people can ask drivers to turn off their engines and can only be fined if they refuse to do so in some parts of this country.
So from me please switch off your engines if parked up if at all possible, you can always switch them back on for a short time if you need some heating, air conditioning or whatever, just don’t leave them running for hours as fuel is not cheap, (maybe with the present Middle East crisis it may stop for a while anyway), otherwise please don’t choke the publisher/distributor of this magazine, or anyone else who has to do a lot of walking about the Jewellery Quarter.
Mark
