Leaving a car or truck engine running when parked doesn’t just waste fuel — it pollutes the air that people are breathing. Idling releases exhaust that contributes to asthma, allergies, cardiovascular disease and, in the case of diesel, lung cancer. Children are especially vulnerable. Kids are more vulnerable to traffic pollution, with the same effect as cigarette smoke. Traffic exhaust particles are tiny and toxic, and once inhaled they enter the bloodstream and affect every organ in the body.
A Brisbane study found that exposure to vehicle exhaust was associated with a 38 per cent increase in asthma emergency department presentations and more respiratory infections among school‑aged children. This makes switching off engines at school and childcare drop‑off zones one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect children’s health.
Brisbane faces an added challenge: we don’t have air‑quality sensors in the places where people breathe the air. Most monitors sit far from busy roads, schools and aged‑care facilities. Without local data, we can’t see the pollution peaks that affect families every day. Cities overseas have shown what’s possible. London installed monitors at pollution hotspots and acted when levels were high. Around schools, they introduced “School Streets” — temporary road closures and no‑idling zones at drop‑off and pick‑up times. Pollution fell by 23 per cent. Brisbane could adopt similar approaches.
The global Breathe Cities programme helps cities reduce air pollution by combining community action, monitoring and practical interventions. It’s an ideal collaboration for Brisbane City Council to explore. Even small reductions in traffic pollution significantly reduce a child’s risk of asthma, both immediately and over their lifetime.
Heat makes air pollution worse, and Brisbane’s rising temperatures amplify the problem. Heat changes the chemistry of the air, traps pollutants near the ground, and increases the conditions that allow pollution to build up. During heatwaves, levels of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can spike sharply. With hotter summers ahead, reducing traffic emissions becomes even more urgent.
Trucks — especially old diesel models — are among the biggest contributors to toxic air pollution. The health impacts of vehicle exhaust in Australia are now estimated to be higher than skin cancer.
Switching off engines when parked provides immediate and long‑term health benefits, reduces carbon emissions and saves money at the fuel bowser. Parents and grandparents are encouraged to join the national Idle Off campaign, led by Parents for Climate and supported by Doctors for the Environment Australia, by switching off near schools and childcare centres and starting conversations about reducing idling in their community.
