The police in Dalarna are intensively working to chase idle drivers. In recent weeks, several have been fined 2,000 SEK for warming up their cars before driving off.

It is in the Dalafjällen, where there are currently well over 100,000 mountain tourists, that the police have spent time chasing idle drivers despite morning temperatures approaching minus 17 degrees.

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In Malung-Sälen and also in Älvdalen municipality, it is considered an environmental offense if idling lasts for more than two or three minutes, respectively.

An employee at a car workshop in Sälen recently received a fine for unloading tires from the car and then leaving the car idling while he ran to the toilet. The police arrived and fined him 2,000 SEK.

Martin Cargerman, who owns the car workshop in Sälen, insists that the car should be idling for a while before driving off.

– You warm up oils and other things. But it’s good to know the rules so you don’t get fined, says Martin Cargerman to Avesta tidning.

However, those fined in the police’s offensive in the Dalafjällen have not been caught for environmental offenses but for a law that prohibits a driver from leaving their car unattended. This is because there is a risk of someone stealing the car if it is left idling unattended.

READ ALSO: Didn’t scrape the ice off the windshield – fined 40,000 SEK