New research from CWC Environmental for Idling Action London has revealed that 22% of respondents don’t switch off their engines when parked or pulled over.

The survey also found that 5 to 10% of drivers decided to disable their car’s automatic stop-start technology, which is designed to eradicate idle driving. The most common reasons for doing this were concerns over the vehicle’s battery life and finding the technology annoying.

Idling Action London is supported by the Mayor of London Air Quality Fund and aims to combat avoidable pollution caused by engine idling. More than 30 local authorities and the City of London Corporation are collaborating on the project to raise awareness and break the nation’s idling habit.

The groups argue that although idling is sometimes unavoidable, it is unnecessary in most situations and has a serious impact on air quality. The harmful gases in exhaust fumes increase the amount of pollution in the atmosphere, worsening respiratory conditions while also wasting valuable fuel.

Nicholas Lyes, Head of Roads Policy at the RAC, commented: “Idling your engine wastes fuel, and money, and means you are unnecessarily emitting air pollutants. If your car has stop-start technology we strongly recommend you use it to help cut down on harmful emissions.”

“Drivers shouldn’t worry about start-stop as modern car batteries are designed to be switched on and off regularly and generally only engage the technology once the engine has been running for a while anyway.”

“Those with older cars without the technology should also consider manually switching their engines off when stationary for extended periods to help protect the health of those around them.”

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Oil and gas multinational, Shell, has recently launched a new type of carbon-reducing bitumen that incorporates an innovative bio-component binder. Bitumen CarbonSink locks carbon into asphalt and bitumen, turning the road into technical carbon sinks. 

Set on more than just reducing carbon emissions, Shell has designed the Bitumen CarbonSink to both remove and store locked carbon. For every kilometre of road surface, the Bitumen CarbonSink could remove an astonishing 6 tonnes of CO2 (based on a model single surface layer, 50mm deep, 3.5m wide, 5% binder content). 

To put this performance into perspective, using biogenic materials in asphalt on the whole UK road network could save as much carbon as is emitted by 50,000 homes in an entire year.

Even at the end of the road’s life, most of the carbon collected from the binders will remain locked in: 96% of reclaimed asphalt pavement is recycled or re-used in other pavements, 76% is re-used in the manufacture of new asphalt mixes and a further 20% is recycled in unbound road layers. 

The new bitumen technology has already been launched in the UK by Aggregate Industries to create its ‘SuperLow-Carbon’ asphalt. Victoria Smith, Managing Director at Aggregate Industries commented: 

“Having been in the industry for many years now, change seems to have been very slow and gradual. This is a big leap in technology that is giving us a real reduction in carbon.”

“Superlow-Carbon isn’t just for the major road network. This product can be used anywhere from new motorways, new retail parks, sports pitches or your driveway.”

Shell’s new CarbonSink bitumen is currently being launched in multiple markets to be used at scale across the global road network.

Keep checking the Anglo Liners’ blog each week to stay up-to-date with all the latest road safety news, or click here for a free quote.

At the Road Surface Treatments Association’s annual conference this month, industry experts noted that local councils are falling short where reducing carbon emissions is concerned. 

Members of the conference identified that while councils have been testing innovative approaches with trials, many have yet to commit to enduring plans to tackle the carbon crisis.

Ross Bullerwell, managing director at North Yorkshire (NY) Highways, said: “Many authorities have a strategy, but are not necessarily doing their part. In North Yorkshire, we’ve pushed the council to come up with a five-year plan, which is around holding projects to account for what they are delivering”. 

He added: “We have to make sure that as part of the strategy, as part of our design, as part of declaring the carbon emergency, we must have year-on-year plans that deliver something. Otherwise, in five years, we’ll still be doing a little trial.” 

Transitioning from trials to long-term strategies will require hard work and a change in prevailing attitudes. Sean Rooney, head of highway maintenance at Oxfordshire County Council revealed that trials are often used to “get around procurement”, and that the industry must work together to “change the attitude of people” and enable future progress. 

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