‘Turn it off’ Thame

Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk to health. A recent report from The Lancet Commission on pollution and health (2017), estimates that within the UK, air pollution is linked to 50,000 deaths each year.

Keeping the engine running while stuck in traffic or waiting to collect someone contributes to an increase of air pollutant levels. Schools, hospitals and bus stops in particular are hotspots, as:

• Idling is more likely to happen at those locations
• They have sensitive age groups, such as children and older people

Cars are being designed to help with reducing idling by automatically switching the engine off in traffic but for those of us who still have a car that doesn’t do this – we need to make it happen ourselves.

So let’s improve our air quality and make Thame a more pleasant place to walk, sit and cycle.

Thame has a few signs around to encourage people not to idle, other towns have bigger ones!

Different messages appear in each different town – which one do you think is most effective ?