Under Regulation 98 of The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, it is an offence to leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on the roadside.
Since 2002, under Regulation 12 of The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002, Local Authorities have been given the powers to enforce the switching off of engines when vehicles are stationary on the roadside. This enables local authorities to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice of (FPN) £40 to a driver who is committing an offense by idling their vehicle’s engine.
Aside from enforcing idling by issuing FPNs, a council may choose to create a Traffic Management Order, under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, so that traffic enforcement officers within the local authority are able to issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) of £80 for idling vehicles.
Local Authorities can find a useful toolkit with templates related to enforcement on the Resources page. Please note, all local authorities using these templates should consult with their relevant legal teams first.