One way to deal with Hong Kong’s air pollution problems is to implement a law which makes it an offense to leave a vehicle idling for more than three minutes. Research showed that motor vehicles are a major contributor to worsening air quality in the city. According to Clean The Air, a local charity group revealed that idling vehicles pose risks not only to the environment but also to health of passengers and deteriorate engine conditions. With 567,705 vehicles and only 2,009 kilometers of road network, Hong Kong has the highest road traffic density in the world – 275 vehicles per kilometer if all are on the road. The idling law therefore appears to be a sensible approach.

But opponents of the law didn’t have to hold banners and shout loudly to proponents to explain their case, thanks to the searing summer heat and a couple of case studies. Two cases involving bus drivers revealed the problems of the law when implemented strictly. As the Secretary for the Environment told the public the government is open to allowing more exemptions under the proposed law: a minibus driver died after turning off his engine in obedience of the law. The next day a Kowloon Motor Bus driver suffered possible heatstroke.

Most buses in Hong Kong are equipped with airconditioning units to combat the humid conditions during summer, but there are still about 100 KMB buses without them, earning the dubious moniker as “hot dog buses”, plying the city streets at mid-30s temperatures. For drivers assigned to drive them, great physical strength is required before these buses are phased out in 2012. It is not unusual for Hong Kong’s summer temperatures to reach 36 degrees Centigrade.

The law stipulates that only the first few minibuses or taxis in the queue are exempted from shutting down their engines, in preparation for passenger boarding. Violation would mean a fine of HK$320. In the case of the 81-year-old minibus driver, he followed the law and paid the price. Such incidens prompted the Public Light Bus General Association, a group representing minibus operators, to urge authorities to exempt all buses in the queue from turning off their engines. Maybe this is good, but only during summer where unbearable heat can be life threatening. 

Bus drivers need to be exempted from this idling law because they are on the road all the time and following the rule could be detrimental to their health. Also, they bring in passengers who find it troubling to be in a hot furnace, otherwise called a minibus. Why not target private vehicles whose occupants occasionally doze off on the streets with air-conditioning units on full blast? They far outnumber the poor bus drivers and most of them don’t stay on the road as long as the bus drivers do.

As lawmakers spend time in their cozy offices drawing the roadmap of the law, the ones in the field feel the absurdity and unfairness. We all aim to breath cleaner air in Hong Kong.

Draconian rules don’t apply; let’s meet halfway.