CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
Traffic Fumes
(12 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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That prompted me to do a bit of googling. There is lots of interesting data at the Defra UK-AIR web site including:
I wonder if those masks that make you look like Bane from Batman help?
Posted 11 years ago # -
They'd help you to look like Bane. That can only be a good thing, yes?
Posted 11 years ago # -
The masks might help filter the larger particulate matter, but will do nothing for the gaseous co-pollutants.
I tried wearing a mask for a few weeks and found it very inconvenient. Basically your face will drip with condensation. Yucky.
Practically speaking if you want to avoid pollution you are better off picking quieter roads and keeping out of heavy traffic.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I'm mainly concerned that for many years we've developed a series of incentives to encourage people to move away from petrol and towards diesel (through taxes, charges, etc). Cars tend to have a 10 year lifespan these days (empirical figure plucked out of thin air by me) and manufacturers follow customer demand, which in turn tends to be influenced by the tax policies of national and local government.
In other words, changing what people are driving is a very slow business, and we are now beginning to see that the scramble for diesel was not such a good plan for anyone who has to breathe urban air.
The law of unintended consequences at work, again.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Modern diesel engines should have a diesel particulate filter (DPF) which helps reduce particulate emissions.
I'm not sure how effective they are in an urban context though
Posted 11 years ago # -
Indeed - according to this page at least, it seems possible to have a diesel car that emits no Particulate Matter.
No obvious solution to the Nitrogen Oxide, though, and a mask won't help with that.
If only there was a polution-free alternative that people could use for short urban journeys...
Posted 11 years ago # -
I remember reading that the level of pollution is much higher in the car than directly outside it. Was I imagining that or come someone confirm?
Posted 11 years ago # -
I too dimly remember that factlet with the condition that you had to be stationary. Can't confirm it either, mind.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I remember reading something like that too. Don't recall the "stationary" proviso but fair to say that vehicle occupants spend more time stationary than cyclists on urban roads in any case.
Posted 11 years ago # -
From memory, it was related to air intakes on cars being low down and at the front - perfectly positioned to suck up the exhaust from the vehicle in front.
Some of the buses are particularly grim.
Posted 11 years ago # -
That was one of the factors mentioned in the BMA's big study some years ago which concluded that even on UK roads cycling was 19 times healthier than driving (or something like that).
Posted 11 years ago #
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