Highway Code, exemption for those who park with the engine running

The new Highway Code, in the consultation version, provides a specific exemption from the prohibition of keeping the engine running during a stop, “to protect vulnerable individuals.” This is clarified by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in a note, explaining that the update arises from a specific request by Minister Matteo Salvini. In detail, the Mit indicates that the new article 2.II.11 (provisional numbering) modifies the current article 157 of the Highway Code.

Exemption from a rule of the Highway Code

The intervention, reports Ansa, aims to reconcile road safety with the need to ensure adequate conditions of well-being and protection inside the vehicle when there are people on board who, due to personal conditions, cannot be exposed to risks related to unconditioned air or unfavorable ambient temperatures. The rule allows the vehicle to be left stopped with the thermal engine running and the air conditioning system on, but only when children, pregnant women, elderly people, or other vulnerable individuals are on board.

To protect vulnerable individuals

The exemption, therefore, is not configured as a generalized possibility, but as a limited exception to specific personal conditions that justify, in those circumstances, the operation of certain systems even during a stop. The Mit note also emphasizes how the notion of “vulnerable individuals” includes all people, including those with disabilities, who – due to specific health or psycho-physical conditions – require suitable health and safety conditions even during the vehicle’s stop. Furthermore, the Ministry specifies that “the provision is already contained in the text currently submitted for consultation to operators and sector associations.”

Click here to add Formula Passion as a preferred source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!

Translated from