Strolling Joe

Love or hate electric cars, this being accepted as normal is bizarre. We now live in a world where it’s considered reasonable to idle a car outside school gates so you stay warm for a few minutes, at the direct expense of other people’s health. Vehicle exhausts release nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These pollutants are proven to trigger asthma attacks, worsen heart and lung disease, impair lung development in children, increase the risk of strokes and heart attacks, and contribute to premature deaths. Children are especially vulnerable. Their lungs are still developing, they breathe faster than adults, and school gates are often the worst air-quality hotspots of the day. Air pollution is linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths every year in the UK alone. That’s not opinion or something to be pretend to be oblivious to. That’s public-health data. And yet idling outside schools is still treated as normal. Still shrugged off. Still defended as “only a few minutes”. This isn’t about electric cars. It’s about priorities. When personal comfort ranks above clean air for kids, elderly people, and anyone with respiratory conditions, something has gone badly wrong. It’s a small sign, but a telling one, of what we’ve quietly decided to accept. And maybe it’s time we stopped. .