By Richard Guttridge

Copyright birminghammail

A West Midlands council threatened parents with fines for breaking little-known driving rules on the school run – but hasn’t issued a single penalty over the last 12 months. Parents in Dudley have been urged not to leave their cars ‘idling’, which means keeping the engine running when parked up. It’s common for drivers to keep the engine ticking over for a short period, including when waiting to pick kids up from school. READ MORE: All the cars that will be banned from 2030 under major new rules POLL: Do you support a ban on pavement parking? But this increases pollution levels around schools amid concerns over the health impact on children. It’s an issue local authorities are increasingly attempting to clamp down on. Dudley Council warned motorists of the possibility of £20 fines for those who refuse to switch their engines off – and that warning remains on its website. But a freedom of information request by BirminghamLive found not a single fixed penalty notice was issued by the council over the last year for idling. Despite previous and existing warnings over fines, Dudley Council told us its “approach to tackling issues of traffic idling is very much around education rather than prosecution”. Get all the latest motoring news sent to your inbox by signing up to our new newsletter here Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member for economy and infrastructure, said: “Our approach to tackling issues of traffic idling is very much around education rather than prosecution. “We’re currently piloting an 18-month project as part of the school streets scheme funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority which prohibits drivers from driving on selected roads around two test schools during peak drop off and pick up time. “Fewer cars on the roads at these times translates into less opportunity for traffic idling and fewer emissions. “These pilots at Peter’s Hill Primary, Amblecote, and Brook Primary, Brierley Hill will soon be coming to an end when we will be assessing their effectiveness and potentially making them permanent and extending them to other schools in the borough.” A message on the council’s website states: “Vehicle idling is an offence against the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002. “The law states that is an offence to idle your engine unnecessarily when stationary. “If you fail to turn your engine off after being spoken to you may be issued with a fixed penalty notice of £20.”