Cars

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What’s the Problem With Short Car Journeys?

Last Modified Date: February 18, 2024

It's tempting to jump in the car every time you need to run a quick errand, but if you have another option, it's worth considering a different form of transportation, such as walking or cycling.

Analysis of air quality factors in the United Kingdom in 2018 found that the amount of pollution from vehicle use is highest in the first five minutes after start-up. A study of vehicles tested by Emissions Analytics found that pollution control systems can take more than five minutes to become fully operable, and that short trips produce a “pollution burst” while they warm up. And since more than half of UK car journeys are less than five miles, short trips are having a significant negative impact on pollution levels there. According to the report, drivers take the brunt of the pollution because noxious levels inside vehicles can be especially high.

To drive or not to drive, that is the question:

In the UK and the US, transportation is responsible for about one-fourth of all carbon dioxide emissions. Transportation releases more greenhouse gases than any other sector – including electricity production and agriculture.

The average gasoline-powered car on British roads produces 180g of CO2 every kilometer, while a diesel vehicle produces 173g of CO2/km. In the US, the average passenger vehicle releases 650g of CO2/km (due to larger vehicles).

One answer, climate scientists say, is to reduce car use when you can. For example: A generation ago, 70 percent of British children walked to school. Today, less than half do.