Drivers face a £40 fine for leaving their car engine running while they are in a parking bay after councillors backed new rules.
Councillors were told that fines would not be dished out to vehicles stopped in traffic, with the rule change intended to target drivers idling elsewhere, including in taxi ranks.
Brighton and Hove City Council’s City Environment, South Downs and the Sea Committee was asked to back a £20 fine for idling at a meeting yesterday (Tuesday 20 June).
But Green councillor Kerry Pickett asked for the penalty charge to be £40 – in line with similar councils – and reduced to £20 if paid within 10 days.
Labour councillor Mitchie Alexander backed Councillor Pickett’s suggestion.
Labour councillor Tim Rowkins, who chairs the committee, said: “The choice for the fine to be initially set at £20 was based on us having the information that that was the maximum.
“Had we known that £40 was the maximum, then that’s what would have been proposed.”
The committee unanimously agreed to the increase.
Signs are already in place at level crossings, taxi ranks and in the centre of Brighton and Hove as well as in Rottingdean and Portslade, councillors were told. More signs will alert drivers to turn off their engines when stationary.
The law allows council enforcement officers to issue a fixed penalty notice after approaching the driver of a stationary car with its engine running.
Councillors also agreed to halt community protection warnings and community protection notices for small and independent businesses blighted by graffiti.
Councillor Pickett asked whether the move would make any difference to graffiti levels in Brighton and Hove and abstained from voting for the change.
Councillor Rowkins said: “We’ve heard a lot of feedback from small business owners who feel they are the victim of a crime and secondly doubly punished by the threat of a fine from the council. This is in response to those concerns.
“The hope is this shift in approach won’t lead to a significant amount of graffiti left in place but we will continue monitoring throughout this period.”
The council’s graffiti reduction strategy is due to be reviewed later this year.
Can we fine council workers for idling? That would be a real cash cow
That would bring in millions!
That would generate a large amount of revenue
I recently asked an ambulance worker in a critical care car if he could turn off his engine as he was wasting away an hour or so on the prom he gave some baffling excuse about needing to listen for call outs. Council workers would be a good target and the police. And as for the taxi driver who would get cold in winter. Oh come on they have them running all the time I even saw one taxi driver idling with a sign on his car saying no idling!!!
Will be interested to see if the enforcers will be going after cars waiting at level crossings as well?
Obviously not. That’s not a very sensical thing to say.
Why not – there are signs telling you to do it already?
Ok..I’ll freeze during the winter waiting in my taxi on a rank…
That is a reply of a dullard. Take some hot soup with you in a flask. Having recently had the misfortune to have been working in Brighton recently it is clearly rapidly descending into the likes of Philadelphia , San Francisco and the many Marxist cities in the US that are descending into chaos !
Get a jumper!
Will it apply to buses picking up passengers at bus stops?
Can the council only think of cars to make them money they will fine you for farting next for polluting the atmosphere there nothing but a cash cow for the council so that they can recover the money they keep plowing into the failed i360. Sel it and cut your losses and build a swimming complex like Blackpool.
Can we remove the commercial bin fines next please too as that’s another insane cash cow implemented on the green watch. It’s forcing a lot of businesses to stop recycling due to lack of storage space, so is really counter productive.
Equally I’m not sure how fining businesses at 09:15 in the morning for forgetting to take the bin in helps reduce fly tipping, when a simple ‘your bin needs taking in please’ would do. Obviously I forgot I’m now living in communist China where we cannot speak to eachother with any manners, just dish out fines like we are all law breaking…
I believe that the councillors who suggested this are naiive to say the least. A taxi driver is on the road for long shifts, in the winter the car will be freezing in minutes and in the summer, it would be too hot without A/C. Is this fair on the drivers?
Equally, the switching of the engine on and off frequently causes damage, will the council be paying for repairs?
40,000 die of air pollution a year as direct result of emissions so makes sense. Perhaps outside of schools waiting to collect or drop off children might be a good place to be first.
1. The official figure is less https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-health-england-publishes-air-pollution-evidence-review
2. About 700,000 die every year anyhow, and air pollution is therefore only a contributory factor in 5% of them
3. AFAIK only one person in the UK has ever had air pollution listed as a cause of death
4. Even if we get rid of all air pollution, and the biggest source in the UK is wood burning stoves, people will still die
The figure you quoted is a lie it is just a made up figure there is NO proof
Could we have an end to the cliché of “cash cow”? Several comments include the phrase. Make language fresh.
I noticed the article specifically mentions “while they are in a parking bay”, which excludes those stupid example of buses stopping to pick up passengers, and cars at level crossings.
However, it shouldn’t be limited to parking bays. I’ve seen vehicles waiting on yellow lines with engines running, even, ironically, a taxi with a ‘turn off your engine while stationary ‘ sticker on the back.
There should be a large dose of common sense applied to enforcement of all rules. However, as there won’t be enough patrols to catch the offenders, it’s unlikely to make much of a difference. The same applies to the illegal parking along Western Road Hove, and graffiti, anti social behaviour, etc, etc…
I saw several taxis lined up a few weeks ago with one idling… I just casually walked up to the one in front of the idling one and pointed at the sticker. After about 20 seconds the driver turned the engine off. It was satisfying.
Typical B & H Coucil a bunch of half baked imbeciles .
Will the Enforcement Officers be working from home ?
Great. Not before time.
Most car drivers will switch off their engines when politely requested. Those that don’t perhaps need the risk of a fine to encourage them to.
Fffffiidkddk ffffdggffddfffff you know what I mean!
My vehicle has an official manufacturer’s sign on the dashboard to let the engine idle for three minutes prior to switching off.Otherwise serious engine damage can result
Today alone I saw a gas van idling for the 15 minutes I waited for a bus, and later a taxi out the front of the station for 6 minutes again waiting for a bus. Very annoying as it’s completely pointless pollution.