West Sussex county council is to trial a scheme allowing traffic wardens to issue fixed penalties to drivers who leave their engines idling for long periods of time in built-up areas. The trial will start in Shoreham, near Brighton, which has been designated an Air Quality Management Area due to its poor air quality.
Wardens will target drivers who, for example, wait at the railway level crossing without switching off their engines or who sit with their engines running on the High Street. No fines will initially be issued during the trial, but a fixed penalty is under discussion if the measures take effect, issued to drivers who refuse to switch their engines off when asked to by a warden. A council spokesman told the Brighton Evening Argus: 'If it was ever introduced, the fixed penalty would probably be £20. But we would hope that the vast majority of motorists would be willing to co-operate and not leave their engines idling.'
Wardens will target drivers who, for example, wait at the railway level crossing without switching off their engines or who sit with their engines running on the High Street. No fines will initially be issued during the trial, but a fixed penalty is under discussion if the measures take effect, issued to drivers who refuse to switch their engines off when asked to by a warden. A council spokesman told the Brighton Evening Argus: 'If it was ever introduced, the fixed penalty would probably be £20. But we would hope that the vast majority of motorists would be willing to co-operate and not leave their engines idling.'
