Motorists in Wales Face Fines of Up to £150 for Idling - BBC News
BBC Homepage
Accessibility Help
Your account
Home
News
Sport
Earth
Reel
Worklife
Travel
Culture
Future
Music
TV
Weather
Sounds
More menu
More menu
Search BBC
BBC News
Menu
- Home
- Climate
- World
- UK
- Business
- Tech
- Science
- Entertainment & Arts
- Health
- In Pictures
BBC Verify
Newsbeat
Wales
Wales Politics
Wales Business
North West
North East
Mid
South West
South East
Cymru
Local News
Leaving your engine running in Wales could cost you £150
Image source: Reuters
Image caption: The previous punishment for idling was £20 and had not changed since its introduction in 2003
Drivers in Wales who leave their vehicle engine running while parked will face fines of up to £150 from Wednesday.
This change is part of a new measure by the Welsh government to reduce harmful pollution and protect children's health. The previous punishment for idling, as it is known, was £20, but this has now been raised to anywhere from £75 to £150, depending on circumstances.
Llyr Gruffydd, cabinet minister for rural resilience and sustainability, said the £20 fixed fine for idling was "insufficient", and not being used "in the way everyone might envision it". He added that increasing the fee available for local authorities to penalise drivers would be a "stronger deterrent".
"We really do feel we need to step up here, clamp down on this as a problem and make sure we protect people's health and generally it will make communities a better place to live in," Gruffydd said.
He hoped the higher range of fines would "change the habits of people who are polluting communities and are putting children and vulnerable people's health at risk".
Anna, who was collecting her children from Treganna school in Cardiff, welcomed the new measure. She lives close to the school and said it gets "really, really busy because cars are everywhere around here".
"When we actually want to leave here, to go somewhere, we can't during these hours," she said, adding it once took her 45 minutes to get down the road. "For us it's kind of good because it will stop a lot of these cars from parking here."
Chiara Rinaldi, another parent, was less convinced. She thought the idea was good but questioned its enforcement: "School runs are chaotic as it is but you're never going to get the police out here are you, enforcing fines. It's a great idea but never going to happen."
Wendy Vernon-Fulook, who frequently collects her children from school on foot, agreed the higher fine was a "good thing".
"You shouldn't be leaving the car running, obviously it's not good for the environment and it might stop people from doing it," she said. "It might not, people might keep doing it unfortunately, but we're trying to encourage people to walk as much as possible, so it can only be a good thing."
Rhiannon Simmonds was more skeptical: "I'm not sure I agree with it, if a mandatory solution is the way to go about it, but I completely appreciate the logic of what they're trying to do for sure."
What are the rules around idling?
Under rule 123 of the Highway Code, drivers must not leave a parked vehicle unattended with the engine running or leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road.
Areas outside schools have been identified as high-risk sites where emissions pose particular concerns.
Hospitals, GP surgeries, care homes, and other sensitive locations are also targeted for these measures.