To be shocked - Schools at pick up time are the most polluted area in a town?!!!!!

[ChristmasSprite]

Parents picking up outside school running engines are causing highest concentrations of pollution

Not surprised.

Fucking pissed off with mums sitting in their 4x4 with the engine running while waiting for their precious children who cannot be arsed to walk home.

Yeah, certainly illegal. Penalties vary, min £20 (Westminster impose £80 fine!). See ^

So is it illegal to leave your engine running? This has always pissed me off, but I feel like it's not acceptable to say anything to the drivers. Could we start a campaign against this behaviour?

There are some councils running consolations about this. Definitely worth writing in.

consultations

Do we not have any 4x4 engine idling MNers on here. I think we must.

An excellent multi-benefit awareness campaign for MN to run.
Save our DC AND help the planet! No brainer

Maybe a facebook thing to be shared.
Be kind switch off while waiting or poison yourself, your kids, residents and the whole school. And get a fine.

The school bus does it which i think is worse as it is going to be diesel

They will be along in a minute telling us that they cannot possible be expected to sit in the car without heating for a few minutes.

Ot that they have a baby that sleeps best with the engine running.

What I think might help is if the schools ran awareness campaigns in assembly. the pressure need to come from within.

I walked past several drivers with their engines running outside school today. Some of them get there 20 minutes before school ends. Loads parked on the yellow lines too. It was drizzling today so even more cars.

It's really not cold enough to need car heating on yet in the afternoons at least. Fold up blankets?

YABU to be surprised

Lots of people making short journeys, then idling for ages because they arrived far to early in order to secure a spot where precious can hop straight from school grounds into the car without having to do any of that nasty walking on pavements business (I am of course only talking about able bodied parents of able bodied children before anyone pounces on me!)

I’m sure there are plenty of Mumsnetters who drive 4x4s and park outside the school at 2.30pm then sit with the engine on for an hour... and I’m sure they justify it to themselves that they’re not the problem ones

No surprise. Give the police powers to breathalyse motorists in the morning outside school, and this will take a few off the road, all those who have wine before bed. Or have a large congestion charge in the area at school times, with exemptions only where a child has a physical disability and cannot walk far.

I don't think it is surprising in the slightest, and has no doubt in creased over the yers as more children go to schools which are outside of catchment and/or a drive away. Also, more families have working parents and children are dropped off by car by parents on their way to work - so an increase in car use for the school run. In addition teachers and other school staff usually live a drive away from their work place so they are also in cars.

Increased cars driving to and from school have a large impact, but the greater avoidable impact comes from those sat in their cars with the engines running. Especially in areas where parking is limited and people arrive early to get a parking spot. This will get worse in the colder months.

We have this issue around the school I work at. It is a highlighted area in the town. We now have signs up around the area reminding people not to sit in their cars with their engines on, and that the council are monitoring and will issue fines for engine idling.

We are also raising money via the HSA to erect some eco green screening for around the playground - planted walls with plants which absorb the polluted area from around the school.

My corner shop: the drivers leave the engine running when they go inside to get morning paper/fags/lottery ticket. No one left in car, and engine left running. See it all the time.

Our primary school parents may park at local leisure centre & walk 5 minutes to school. In a bid to make their offspring more independent, the parents now have their kids walk to school from... the corner shop. So come 3:15pm the corner shop is cluttered with running car engines of parents meeting their kids (the kids need to buy something from the corner shop, of course, after school, hence why leisure centre not suitable wait place).

They're scary mums so I'm not telling them off.

Not remotely surprised. I live near a school and the traffic around drop off and pick up times is horrendous.

The thing that really amazes me is what incredibly short distances people will drive to pick their kids up.

Really annoys me. Our school is all middle class farmers and every parents drives either a Land Rover or a pick up truck. They all park up then go to wait outside the school but leave the engines running! Every morning and afternoon, even in the summer.

Do we not have any 4x4 engine idling MNers on here.

I have a 4x4 though don't use it often; I usually drive the tiny car as parking is at a premium where I park for work (school.)

And it definitely isn't just 4x4s. I do get a bit cross with the over exaggeration that it is only certain people who do it in certain cars, especially on MN.

By doing this it means we just try to shift the blame onto one area of society and the rest feel that they are fine. Blame anyone who does it - our experience locally is that it is a wide range of people sat in a wide range of car types, old and new, who do it!

Where I work there are very few people with large 4x4 types cars. However, we have a large issue with idling and air pollution around the school. Part of this is that we are in a very busy connected area as it is - the surrounding roads are rarely not busy.

But some is also school run idling, especially in the evenings. These are NOT people in shiny white 4x4 cars. They are in a range of smaller and older cars, beaten up cars, taxis, and the like.

Naty1 Tue 20-Nov-18 18:16:08
It's really not cold enough to need car heating on yet in the afternoons at least.

It was snowing just up the hills a few miles form here. It was 3c when I left work. I needed the heating on in my car! I don't agree with engine idling but the idea that the whole of the UK has the same weather is daft. In some parts of the country (and no Im not even talking up the north of Scotland in the high peaks) it is most definitely cold!

Has anyone died as a result?

Yes @Rachelover40
Incidence of cold, asthma, bronchial conditions, etc, are killing children and adults; there was a peak of it in the city in the summer due to the excessive heat trapping pollution.

You dont think anyone is dying as a result of pollution?

*COPD

I thought it was wood burners

I'm not surprised. It is awful but unfortunately people are selfish.

Why the heck would anyone sit in a car for an hour with the engine on? Plan to get there later, or get out and go for a coffee or something (you can't all have schools in the literal middle of nowhere).