Risk of heavy fines for letting the car engine idle
Someone gave the municipality the tip-off. The said person noticed a car standing still with its engine running for a quarter of an hour every weekday morning for a month.
The person wrote to the municipality giving the registration number of the car.
”I hope the municipality is environment-conscious and tackles the problem”, the person wrote.
And that is just what the municipality has done.
The municipality wrote to the car-owner pointing out that letting the car-engine run idle for more than one minute in a built-up area is forbidden. And the car emits even more exhaust fumes in cold weather. The municipal section for ”Miljö och hållbarhet” (Environment and Sustainability) wrote that the fumes can cause health problems for people in the proximity.
The car-owner must stop running the engine while the car is standing still. If the owner does not do this, he or she can be liable to pay for the time that it costs the ”Environment and sustainability” department to deal with the case, that is, 900 crowns per hour.
The letter to the car-owner did the trick. The car-owner has answered that as from now the car will no longer stand with its engine idling.
The municipality is satisfied with this reply, and has dropped the case.
One minute limit for idling engines
Running idle means that the engine is working but the car is standing still. This can be a nuisance, and it causes dangerous substances to be emitted.
In winter, when it is cold, you can scrape ice off the windows before you start the car.
In a built-up area a car may not stand for more than one minute with its engine running idle. A built-up area is a group of at least ten houses. The one-minute rule does not apply if the car is in a queue or if it is obliged to stand still for any other reason.
Letting the engine run to keep the car warm is not allowed. The rules do not apply to cars that are run on electricity.
Source: Östra Göinge, Kristianstad and Hässleholm municipalities.
