Idle (engine)

A row of taxis idling in Hong Kong

Idling refers to running a vehicle's engine when the vehicle is not in motion. This commonly occurs when drivers are stopped at a red light, waiting while parked outside a business or residence, or otherwise stationary with the engine running. When idling, the engine runs without any loads except the engine accessories.

Myths

^[1]

• Myth: restarting the engine uses more gas than idling. Reality: an engine restart uses fuel approximately equal to 10 seconds of idling.
• Myth: restarting the engine causes greater engine wear than idling. Reality: restarting causes less.

Vehicle emissions

Both running an engine and idling an engine produce several pollutants that are monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):^[2]

Winter Conditions (30°F, 13.0 psi RVP gasoline)

Summer Conditions (75°F, 9.0 psi RVP gasoline)

^[2]

Health effects of idling pollutants

Acute effects

^[3][4]

• Direct contact effects: eye, throat, and bronchial irritation
• Neurophysiologic: nausea, lightheadedness
• Respiratory: cough, phlegm congestion
• Immunologic: allergic or asthma-like respiratory response
• Cardiovascular: increased risk for cardiac events

Chronic effects

^[3][4]

• Chronic bronchitis
• Decreased lung function
• Animal studies show strong dose-related effects of inflammation and cellular changes
• Likely carcinogenic (cancer-causing) via inhalation: including lung, bladder, lymphatic, testicular, gastrointestinal, and prostate cancers
• Reproductive: links to low birth weight and damage to sperm chromatin and DNA.^[5]

These health effects are more damaging in those with preexisting heart disease, asthma, or other lung problems. Children are also more susceptible, due to their faster breathing rate and the fact that their respratory system is still developing. Idling pollutants also disproportionately affect the elderly, who have limited physiological reserve to compensate for the adverse effects of the pollutants.^[6]

Strategies to reduce idling

Effort has been made to reduce the amount of time engines spend idling, chiefly due to fuel economy and emissions concerns, although some engines can also be damaged if kept idling for extended periods. In the United States, about a billion gallons (3.8 billion liters) of fuel is consumed by idling heavy-duty truck and locomotive engines each year.^[7] Many newer semi-trucks have small auxiliary power units (APUs) to run accessories more efficiently while the truck is parked. Hybrid vehicles typically shut down their internal combustion engines while stopped, although some conventional vehicles are also including start-stop systems to shut off the engine when it would otherwise idle.

At the macro level, governments can implement strategies to reduce reliance on motorised transport, including investing in public transport and implementing transit-oriented development.

Anti-idling legislation

Canada

The city of Toronto enacted the first idling bylaw (No. 673-1998 Chapter 517 in the Municipal Code) in Canada in 1996 to reduced idle time to 3 minutes for vehicles and marine vessels.^[8][9] There are plans by the health department to ask the bylaw to be amended to a limit of one minute and no exemptions to the city's fleet, including the Toronto Transit Commission buses.^[10]

Other Canadian municipalities have followed Toronto's lead:

• Mississauga, Ontario - Idling Control By-law, 194-2009 ^[11]
• Oakville, Ontario - Anti-Idling Bylaw 2002-153 ^[12]
• Waterloo, Ontario - By-law 2009-077 ^[13]
• Red Deer, Alberta (2009)^[14]
• Sudbury, Ontario (Campaign only - 2010) ^[15]
• Dawson Creek, BC (Dawson Creek’s Energy Plan - municipal fleet only) ^[16]
• Vancouver, BC (2006) ^[17]
• Hamilton, Ontario (2007) ^[18]
• Ajax, Ontario (2009) ^[19]
• Ottawa, Ontario^[20]
• Vaughan, Ontario^[21]

Hong Kong

In a bid to reduce air pollution, the Hong Kong Government enacted the Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance from December 2011. The law prohibits drivers from idling for more than three minutes in any 60-minute period. Both police traffic wardens and inspectors of the Environmental Protection Department can fine offenders HK$320.^[22]

United States

Both the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency have programs in place to reduce idling. The DOE is funding research and development for alternative and advanced vehicles, which includes the gathering of quantitative data on medium-duty trucks, examining idling reduction alternatives, and the CoolCab project for semi-truck curtains and installation.^[23] The EPA's programs include the Environmental Technology Verification Program,^[24] the Smart Way Transport Partnership (freight incentives), the Model State Idling Law (diesel) and Clean School Bus USA.^[25]

All but 11 states have at least one incentive or law in place to reduce idling, while 7 states have at least four.^[26] The state of Colorado has in place a tax credit for alternative fuel and qualified idle reduction technologies, as well as the Green Truck Grant Program which allows the Governor's Energy Office to provide reimbursement of up to 25% of costs to owners of commercial trucks used in interstate commerce to reduce emissions.^[27]

There are many local ordinances and programs to discourage idling, such as ordinances limiting the minutes per hour in which a vehicle can idle.^[28] One example of a local program is Denver, Colorado's Engines Off! citywide anti-idling campaign, which aims to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting voluntary behavior change in idling behavior.^[29]

See also

• Revolutions per minute

References