Keep on running

Manchester City Council are to give traffic wardens the power to fine people if they leave their engines running whilst parked. All in the name of the environment, of course.

How stupid.

For starters, it's another pointless green tax that won't actually accomplish anything, other than raising money. I bet the amount of pollution spewed out by these parked vehicles in a year is less than you get in one traffic jam in one day on the M25.

Secondly, there are many reasons that you actually might need to leave your engine running (apart from get-away drivers in bank jobs). We often do it, especially in hot weather, so we can keep the air conditioning running so the kids (and us!) don't get too hot. If your car has had a flat battery, switching off the engine means it might not start again. If you are parking only for a couple of minutes, you will use less fuel keeping the engine running than if you stop and start it.

Nobody seems to have come up with an idea of how long you need to keep the engine running for, either, so the whole thing will be a mass of confusion. Will bus drivers get fined for picking up passengers?

There really is some lunacy in this world.