• IDLING COSTS MONEY IN NEEDLESS FUEL WASTE & ENGINE WEAR:
FUEL WASTE: Whether a light-duty car, SUV or pickup, or commercial truck, needless idling burns our hard earned dollars or company profits through the tailpipe. An idling vehicle gets 0 miles per gallon. Also note that as fossil fuels are being depleted in the face of ever increasing world demand, exploration costs increase, leading to inevitably increasing fuel prices.
ENGINE WEAR: In light-duty vehicles, excessive idling causes needless engine wear that can lead to increased engine maintenance and shortened engine life[1]. Read vehicle owner's manual samples to learn more. In medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, excessive idling causes increased engine maintenance and shortens engine life[2]. Manufacturers of these engines, including Kenworth Truck Co., Caterpiller, Inc., IC Corporation and Cummins Inc., advise operators to limit idling to a maximum of 3-5 minutes.
ATTENTION FLEET OPERATORS: for more information on how to benefit from idling reduction, visit these two pages: Vermont Idle-Free Fleets and Idle-Free For Fleet$.
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HOW MUCH DOES
UNNECESSARY VEHICLE IDLING COST?
CLICK ON THIS GRAPH
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• IDLING EMISSIONS AFFECT OUR RESPIRATORY HEALTH:
HEALTH IMPACT: LIGHT-DUTY GASOLINE & DIESEL: While modern light-duty vehicles are designed with advanced emission control technologies that have reduced harmful exhaust emission chemicals such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and benzene, real life factors can inevitably cause increased emissions at idle: vehicle age, how the vehicle is maintained, wear of emission control components and their resulting diminished function, the warmed up state of a vehicle, and how cold the weather.
• FACT SHEET: American Lung Association in Vermont: Gasoline Engine Emissions and Health
HEALTH IMPACT: MEDIUM- & HEAVY-DUTY DIESEL: Commercial vehicles and school buses, many equipped with diesel engines that contain toxic exhaust components such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and voltile organic compounds, cause significantly higher levels of harmful emissions when idling.
• Clean Air Task Force: Problems of Diesel and Vermont Diesel Soot Health Impacts
OVERALL HEALTH IMPACT; Prolonged exposure of these emissions affects our respiratory systems, including our lungs and heart. Children, the elderly, and individuals with asthma are especially vulnerable.
• American Lung Association - State of the Air 2011 - Report Card: Vermont
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HOW VEHICLE EMISSIONS AFFECT US - EXPECIALLY CHILDREN
CLICK ON THIS IMAGE
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 HOW LONG SHOULD...
...A WARMED UP, PARKED VEHICLE IDLE?
... A VEHICLE WARM UP AT STANDSTILL?
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HANDOUTS
TO DOWNLOAD, PRINT & DISTRIBUTE
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• IDLING LAWS IN VERMONT RESTRICT OR PROHIBIT IDLING:
1. Vermont has a statewide idling law for motor vehicles on school grounds. This includes all school buses, plus a provision in the law for school boards in each district to adopt idling policies for motor vehicles other than school buses (employees, students, parents, delivery, etc.) when present on school premises.
2. Under Vermont's unattended motor vehicles law, it is a violation to idle a vehicle while unattended in public. See IDLING LAWS page.
• IDLING CONTRIBUTES TO CLIMATE CHANGE:
Greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, including carbon dioxide (CO2), cause climate change. 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. Here's what NASA tells us about global climate change. For Vermont, its ski, maple sugaring and tourist industries are threatened.
- There are more than 557,000 Vermont Car and Truck registrations (as of end of 2010). If many Vermont vehicles reduced their idling by five minutes/day, the total CO2 emissions reduction could exceed 50,000 tons/year[3].
- Vermont's transportation greenhouse gas emissions, based on a geographic calculation, are nearly double the U.S. average: 46% to 26%[4]. Reduction of unnecessary idling can have a significant positive impact on this figure.
• IDLING WASTES ENERGY POSING A RISK TO OUR SECURITY:
The Obama and Bush administrations have expressed bipartisan agreement that our dependence on foreign oil poses a threat to our economic and strategic security. And Peak Oil must be taken seriously. Idling reduction is part of the formula to help make Vermont and America energy independent.
• IDLING CAUSES NOISE POLLUTION:
In our town centers, cities and suburbs, many agree there's already enough noise without having to hear the continuous idling of parked vehicles.
[1] North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources: Division of Air Quality: "Can idling damage my car's engine?"
[2] U.S. EPA New England: "What You Should Know About Truck Engine Idling"
[3]Translated from Natural Resources Canada CO2 emissions calculation on idling. Reference here.
[4]Governor's Commission on Climate Change. Reference here.
 DRIVE-THROUGHS
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 (thereby lowering the cost of your transaction) 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 is required to restart the engine. Turning off and restarting the engine a couple of times when proceeding through the process of waiting, ordering and then picking up can mean the difference between a minute of idling and five minutes. Studies show* that restarting an engine no more than six times a day avoids shortening the life of the starter motor and battery. At the same time, fuel is saved as well as lowered emissions. Again, however, it is best to not use drive-throughs.
*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.
THE ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY :
To Idle or Not To Idle: That Is The Question
In 2010, the Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC, undertook a study of light-duty vehicle idling and started development of a National Idling Reduction Campaign. With this information they made up a poster: To Idle of Not To Idle: That Is The Question. A quote that really stands out: "If each car in the United States idles just 6 minutes per day, about 3 billion gallons of fuel are wasted annually, costing drivers $10 billion. And they haven’t gotten anywhere!" Full poster here. (This is a large file and will take a few moments to download).
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 THE MOST LIKELY REASONS FOR UNNECESSARY VEHICLE IDLING
There are three most likely reasons it is customary for motorists to idle their vehicles.
1. LACK OF AWARENESS. Most of us are simply unaware unnecessary, excessive idling is harmful and wasteful. Gradually, the word is getting out there, mostly from within the school environment and the growing number of idle-free campaigns.
2. PERCEIVED AS NECESSARY. Many of us were taught that it was necessary to idle for proper engine warm up and we have passed this on to succeeding generations. Prior to the advent of fuel injection in the 1980s, carburetor equipped vehicles needed more warm up time to prevent the possibility of stalling in traffic. For modern vehicles however, once the oil has circulated throughout the engine (usually 30 seconds or less), it is best to drive the vehicle to complete engine warm up and to allow other mechanical components to warm up as well.
3. OPTIMAL COMFORT. In the spatial environments of our homes and vehicles, we naturally tend to be accustomed to keeping our bodies in a comfort zone. A fully warmed up or cooled down vehicle cabin achieves this goal. But there is a high price to pay for prolonged warm-up idling, using remote vehicle starters or sitting in a parked idling car to keep warm or cool. Responsible people will choose to sacrifice a few minutes of optimal comfort to avoid wasting fuel, avoid engine wear, improve our air quality and lessen their carbon footprint.
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IS IDLING OUT OF TRAFFIC EVER OK OR EVEN NECESSARY?
Yes. For safety reasons, warm-up idling in certain cold weather conditions needs to be extended if windshield defrosting is not adequate (however, clearing snow/ice off the vehicle exterior should be done before starting the engine in all but below 0 temperatures). If parked during near 0 or below temperatures and shelter elsewhere is not available, extended idling for the occupant is probably necessary. Also, for elderly, infants and pets, adjust for weather extremes accordingly. Extended idling can also be necessary for certain maintenance procedures.
IDLING IN TRAFFIC AT EXTENDED STOP LIGHTS, BORDER CROSSINGS, & ROAD CONSTRUCTION ZONES
• EXTENTED STOP LIGHTS: While Idle-Free VT does not advocate shutting off an engine in traffic at extended stop lights under one minute, one may use their own judgement in balancing prolonged idling with possible safety issues.
• US/CANADIAN BORDER CROSSINGS: The wait times at some of the busier border crossings, especially I-91/I-55, can be very long for cars and trucks. Idle-Free VT recommends that light- and medium-duty vehicles shut off and restart on the slow approach rather than continuously idlng. Drivers of heavy-duty vehicles are encouraged to consider this practice also.
• ROAD CONSTRUCTION ZONES: This campaign recommends shutting off the engine in road construction zones during extended wait times; however, this can be at the discretion of the motorist.
According to Lieutenant John Flannigan, Traffic Safety Unit, Vermont State Police, on road construction zones:
"1) The act of shutting it off by itself is not illegal, unless it is restricting the movement of traffic or unsafe manner / location."
"2) It is appropriate in traffic that is stopped for a longer period of time w/o movement, such as a road closure, temporary road closure (MV crash, etc). However, it would be necessary to leave a vehicle running even in these circumstances if it was during winter month, rain (to see), etc."
Lieutentant Flannigan states basically that shutting down is ok except in freezing weather. As to rain, wipers can operate in Accessory mode.
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