Drivers with idling engines set bad example for next generation

I take issue with Wilkie Wong's view ('Better to keep cars off road', January 12) that banning idling engines is an ineffective way to reduce vehicle emissions and that such a ban will inconvenience members of the public and the police.

Whether it is an inconvenience really relates to what you are used to.

I do not see how it can be inconvenient to switch off your car engine when you are waiting for someone, whether it is for one minute, five minutes or whatever period of time you are waiting.

Unfortunately, despite campaigns from the government [to reduce the number drivers with idling engines] I continue to see many cars parked with their engines on.

This is especially the case outside well-known schools, including private schools. Often you will see the driver, who may be hired, reading a newspaper, playing a computer game or just napping, while waiting for the children to come out.

It is through seeing adults behaving in this way that our children learn how not to be environmentally aware.

When your correspondent suggests inconvenience, this is just the (inconvenient) act of stepping out of your vehicle and waiting sometimes only amounts to a few minutes, in the cold or heat of summer. But on many days, the temperature is acceptable for people waiting.