Many of the Idling facts below are from the Natural Resources Canada Idle-Free Zone, the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiency idle awareness program [NOTE: the Idle-Free Zone is currently unavailable due to website servicing and updating; it is expected to be back online by late May.].
• IDLING CAUSES RESPIRATORY ILLNESS. THE NUMBER ONE CONCERN ABOUT IDLING IS THAT IT NEGATIVELY IMPACTS OUR HEALTH. The emissions of even today's modern vehicles contain carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, benzene and several other toxic chemicals that impair our lungs and heart. Prolonged exposure can lead to death. Children, the elderly, and individuals with asthma are especially at high-risk.†
Courtesy of Citizens Environment Alliance, Idle-Free Windsor (ON, CA)
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Download, print and distribute this information card
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• IDLING CONTRIBUTES TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE. Greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, including carbon dioxide (CO2), cause climate change. A serious threat to the planet, overwhelming scientific evidence links climate change to the earth's highest ever average annual temperatures, melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels, increasingly severe weather events, and to the threat of many plant and animal species.
- There are 563,432 Vermont Car and Truck 2007 registrations††. If every Vermont vehicle reduced their idling by five minutes/day, the total CO2 emissions reduction could exceed 62,000 tons/year**.
- Vermont's transportation greenhouse gas emissions, on a per capita basis, are nearly double the U.S. average: 46% to 26%***. Reduction of unnecessary idling can have a significant positive impact on this figure.
• IDLING WASTES FUEL. In this time of ever increasing gas prices, needless idling burns your hard earned dollars through your exhaust pipe. An idling vehicle is getting 0 miles to the gallon. And remember that fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource and are being depleted in the face of ever increasing world demand. Did you know...
- Idling your vehicle for more than just 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting your engine.*
- Idling your vehicle for 10 minutes uses as much fuel as it takes to travel 5 miles.*
- Idling your vehicle for 10 minutes a day uses more than 27 gallons of fuel a year.*
• IDLING DAMAGES ENGINE COMPONENTS. An idling engine is not operating at peak temperature, resulting in incomplete fuel combustion. Fuel residues can condense on cylinder walls, contaminate oil and damage engine components. With more engine idling these residues tend to deposit on spark plugs. The resulting plug fouling can increase fuel consumption by 4 to 5 percent. Excessive idling can also cause water to condense in the vehicle's exhaust. This can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system. On the other hand, frequent restarting has little impact on engine components such as the starter motor and the battery.*
• NOISE POLLUTION. In our town centers and suburbs, there’s already enough noise without having to hear the constant idling of parked vehicles.
• IDLING REDUCTION IS A STATE LAW. Act 48, is a Vermont statewide idling law for motor vehicles on school property. This includes school buses, plus there is also a provision in the law for school boards to adopt idling policies for motor vehicles other than school buses (employees, students, parents, delivery, etc.) when present on school premises.
ALSO NOTE: For those who leave their vehicles running and unattended in public areas, be aware that is a violation of Vermont's unattended motor vehicle law, a law that is enforced. See Idling Laws of Interest below.
WARMING UP THE ENGINE
As recommended by Canada's federal Idle-Free Zone, a light-duty vehicle needs no more than 30 seconds to warm up before driving, even in subfreezing temperatures*. Remember two important facts: warming up is not good for an engine, and a vehicle that is sitting and warming up is getting 0 MPG.
Here is the correct cold weather warm up procedure for gasoline† engines.
Make sure that your vehicle is tuned-up. Forget use of remote vehicle starters which encourage excessive idling. Do consider use of an engine block heater; they can be timed to turn on two hours before starting the engine. Protect yourself adequately from the elements with warm clothing. Be prepared with good window scrapers that work. Consider the use of a can of spray de-icer or make your own solution of half water and half vinegar in a spray bottle. If necessary, scrape/de-ice and clear your vehicle off first. Then start the engine and immediately blast the defroster. In most cases, you'll be ready to go in 30 seconds. Just start out slowly to moderately to get the lubricants flowing. This is the best way to warm up not only the engine, but the transmission, catalytic converter, wheel-bearings, steering, suspension, etc.
*possoble exceptions: if vehicle occupant is to be elderly or an infant in subfreezing temperatures; if the windshield does not adequately defrost.
†Light-duty diesel engines similar requirements; check owner's manual.
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Drive-throughs or "drive-thrus"--except if driving a hybrid vehicle which seldom idles--should be avoided. By far, what is best for both drivers and all people in the vicinity is to park the vehicle, turn it off and go into the place of business. Besides providing some exercise, this will save fuel, engine wear-and-tear and keep emissions out of the atmosphere. If determined to use the drive-through, please note that idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting. Turning off and restarting the engine a few times when proceeding through the process of waiting, ordering and then picking up can mean the difference between less than a minute of idling and five minutes. Remember that studies show* that restarting an engine places no undue stress on the starter motor and battery. Component wear caused by restarting is estimated to add $10 per year to the cost of driving, money that can be recovered several times over in fuel savings from reduced idling.
*Natural Resources Canada Idle-Free Zone.
NOTE: As personal verification of restarting, Wayne Michaud, Idle-Free VT Director, owned since new a 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback, sold with 214,000 miles. Despite more frequent restarting to avoid excessive idling, the vehicle's original starter lasted throughout.
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WHY PEOPLE IDLE THEIR VEHICLES WHEN PARKED
• Comfort: to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
• Convenience: such as encouragement of remote vehicle starters and drive-throughs.
• Habit: "I've always done it this way."
• Perceived need to warm up their vehicles for long periods of time in cold weather.
• Perceived right to do whatever they want with their vehicles.
• No awareness of the consequences.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO
• First, practice the 10 -- 30 rule:
Turn off your engine when you are parked or stopped (except in traffic) for more than 10 seconds. Idling your vehicle for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting your engine.*
Reduce vehicle warm-up idling to 30 seconds or less, yes, even in subfreezing temperatures. For details, see the box above, WARMING UP THE ENGINE.
• In weather extremes, there are alternatives to sitting in a car and idling. Given all the detrimental facts about idling, let's do all we can within reason to avoid it--even if we have to sacrifice some comfort. If it's too cold to sit in a parked vehicle with the engine off, if at all possible, seek warmth inside a building. Likewise if it's too hot, find a shady parking spot and open windows, or go inside a building to keep cool. It is understood that there can be exceptions when there are no reasonable alternatives such as for elderly and infant passengers, or pets.
• Avoid using a remote vehicle starter, which encourages unnecessary idling.
• Consider the purchase of a gas/electric hybrid vehicle which seldom idles.
• Spread the word to family and friends.
• Start your own idle-free campaign.
• Get published--use these compelling idling facts to write a letter to the editor or an op-ed.
• Sign the Idle-Free VT online petition.
• Write your representatives letting them know you want an all motor vehicle idle-reduction law.
• Witnessing idling: If you witness extended idling of either company fleet vehicles, or tour buses at a ski resort or one of Vermont's many tourist attractions, consider contacting the entities that own the vehicles or that don't restrict idling in their parking areas. Contact Idle-Free VT if you do so. If you witness an individual who is idling excessively, you may want to politely inform them about the harm of idling. It is highly recommended that you only consider doing this in conjunction with an information handout (see above). Most people will react in a reasonable manner but some may be offended.
• Encourage Sen. Bernie Sanders, a U.S. Senate Environment Committee member, to work with other members of this committee (Sen. Barbara Boxer--CA, chair) to advocate for a federal program of idle-free awareness, as Canada has been doing for years. Also ask him to push automobile manufacturers to adopt the Auto Stop-Start system for U.S. vehicles. This system, now utilized on some European models, allows conventional vehicle engines to automatically shut off at stoplights and restart, just as hybrids do. See details on the Links page.
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The State of Vermont's new school bus idling law, enacted May 25, 2007:
ACT 48. AN ACT RELATING TO THE IDLING OF MOTOR VEHICLE ENGINES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. (S.13)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. 23 V.S.A. § 1282(f) is added to read:
(f) Subject to state board of education rules, which may provide for limited idling, the operator of a school bus shall not idle the engine while waiting for children to board or to exit the vehicle at a school and shall not start the engine until ready to leave the school premises. The board, in consultation with the agency of natural resources, the department of health, and the department of motor vehicles, shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. The rules shall set forth periods or circumstances that reasonably require the idling of the engine, including periods when it is necessary to operate defrosting, heating, or cooling equipment to ensure the health or safety of the driver or passengers or to operate auxiliary equipment; and periods when the engine is undergoing maintenance or inspection.
Sec. 2. SCHOOL BOARDS; VEHICULAR IDLING
Nothing in this act or in department of education rules shall prevent a school board from adopting idling policies for motor vehicles other than school buses when present on school premises. By January 1, 2008, the department of education shall develop a model policy relating to idling of vehicles other than school buses to be distributed to schools for their use.
Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
This act shall take effect on passage. The rules required by this act shall take effect during the 2007–2008 academic year.
Approved: May 25, 2007
Vermont's Unattended Motor Vehicles law is mainly designed to discourage vehicle theft (no insurance coverage for stolen vehicles resulting from running unattended), but can also be applied toward idling enforcement. Here's the statute:
Title 23: Motor Vehicles
Chapter 13: OPERATION OF VEHICLES
23 V.S.A. § 1111. Unattended motor vehicle
§ 1111. Unattended motor vehicle
No person shall permit a motor vehicle to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key from the ignition and effectively setting the brake, air temperatures permitting, and, when the vehicle is standing upon a grade, turning the front of the front wheels toward the curb or side of the highway. This section does not apply to authorized emergency vehicles. (Added 1971, No. 258 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 1, 1973.)
Burlington Code of Ordinances, Sec. 20-55
(e) No person shall leave idling for more than five (5) minutes any motor vehicle in any area of the city during the period from April 1 of every year to November 1 of the same year, except in the following instances:
(1) Motors used to run refrigeration units may be left idling to permit uninterrupted refrigeration;
(2) A motor vehicle may be left idling if necessary for the repair of that vehicle;
(3) This provision shall not apply to motor vehicles which must be kept idling in order to install, maintain or repair equipment or infrastructure.
(4) This provision shall not apply in any situation in which the health or safety of a driver or passenger requires the idling of the vehicle.
Massachusetts General Law ch. 90
§ 16A. Unnecessary Operation of Engine of Stopped Motor Vehicle Prohibited; Exceptions; Penalty. No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the unnecessary operation of the engine of a motor vehicle while said vehicle is stopped for a foreseeable period of time in excess of five minutes. This section shall not apply to (a) vehicles being serviced, provided that operation of the engine is essential to the proper repair thereof, or (b) vehicles engaged in the delivery or acceptance of goods, wares, or merchandise for which engine assisted power is necessary and substitute alternate means cannot be made available, or (c) vehicles engaged in an operation for which the engine power is necessary for an associate power need other than movement and substitute alternate power means cannot be made available provided that such operation does not cause or contribute to a condition of air pollution. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for the first offense, nor more than five hundred dollars for each succeeding offense.
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This is NOT a law, but for Vermont, Idle-Free VT advocates an all motor vehicle idling law
(similar to laws in Massachusetts, Hawaii and by-laws of many Canadian municipalities):
No person shall allow in the State of Vermont any motor vehicle that is designed to operate on public roads to idle in excess of three (3) consecutive minutes in any 60 minute period for gasoline-powered vehicles; five (5) consecutive minutes in any 60 minute period for diesel-powered vehicles, with the following exceptions:
(1) The vehicle is forced to remain motionless on a public road because of traffic conditions over which the operator has no control;
(2) The vehicle is being used as an emergency vehicle in an emergency situation;
(3) Required by a federal, state, or local law or official, but only to the extent necessary to comply with such requirement;
(4) The vehicle’s engine is providing auxiliary power for activities other than heating or air conditioning, such as loading, refrigeration, well drilling, or farming;
(5) Running the vehicle’s engine is necessary for maintenance, servicing, repair, or diagnostic purposes;
(6) Running the vehicle’s engine during adverse weather conditions is necessary to ensure the safe operation of the vehicle; or
(7) The ambient air temperature is below 20 degrees Fahrenheit for gasoline-powered vehicles; below 32 degrees Fahrenheit for diesel-powered vehicles, and idling of the vehicle is necessary to ensure the safety or health of the passengers or driver.
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