Protecting our Health: Implementing an anti-idling campaign in Australia

Exposure to traffic-related emissions has been shown to significantly increase childhood asthma incidence and prevalence in Australia. Young children are most at risk to traffic-related air pollution outside of schools and childcare centres due to their proximity to idling vehicles. Traffic exhaust also contains powerful greenhouse gases and makes a large contribution to climate change. Without further interventions, the transport sector is projected to be Australia’s largest source of emissions by 2030.

The benefits of reducing unnecessary vehicle idling include:

• Immediate and long-term public health benefits
• Reductions in transport-related carbon emissions
• Reduced costs to consumers at the fuel bowser
• Builds political capital and broadens public support towards future policy reform

We recommend the launch of a federal public awareness campaign aimed at changing vehicle idling behaviours.