Idle (engine)

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.

This article is about engine idle. For other uses, see Idle (disambiguation).
A row of taxis idling in Hong Kong

Vehicle emissions

Both running an engine and idling an engine produce several pollutants that are monitored in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):[1]

It is often believed that stopping and restarting the engine uses more gas than idling. In reality, an engine restart uses fuel approximately equal to 10 seconds of idling.[2] Restarting the engine also causes less engine wear than idling.[2]

Winter Conditions (30°F, 13.0 psi RVP gasoline)
PollutantLDGVLDGTHDGVLDDVLDDTHDDVMC
VOC [g/min]0.3520.5120.7340.0610.0800.2110.335
CO [g/min]6.198.1211.40.1680.1911.586.47
NOx [g/min]0.1030.1250.1960.1110.1150.9450.042

Summer Conditions (75°F, 9.0 psi RVP gasoline)
PollutantLDGVLDGTHDGVLDDVLDDTHDDVMC
VOC [g/min]0.2690.4010.5970.0590.0770.2080.324
CO [g/min]3.825.6512.30.1660.1871.577.26
NOx [g/min]0.0790.0950.1700.1080.1110.9170.028

Source:[3][1]

Health effects of idling pollutants

Health effects of idling are related to engine exhaust, and include acute effects such as eye, throat, and bronchial irritation; nausea; cough, phlegm congestion; allergic or asthma-like respiratory response; increased risk for cardiac events; cancer, and chronic effects, such as bronchitis, decreased lung function, damage to reproductive function (low birth weight and damage to sperm chromatin and DNA).[4][5][6]

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 respiratory 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.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9][10] 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.[11]

Other Canadian municipalities have followed Toronto's lead:

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.[23]

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.[24] The EPA's programs include the Environmental Technology Verification Program,[25] the Smart Way Transport Partnership (freight incentives), the Model State Idling Law (diesel) and Clean School Bus USA.[26]

All but 11 states have at least one incentive or law in place to reduce idling, while 7 states have at least four.[27] 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.[28]

There are many local ordinances and programs to discourage idling, such as ordinances limiting the minutes per hour in which a vehicle can idle.[29] 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.[30]

See also

References
  1. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Emission facts: idling vehicle emissions. April 1998. Accessed at
  2. Environmental Defense Fund. (2008) Attention Drivers! Turn Off Your Idling Engines. Accessed at http://www.edf.org/transportation/reports/idling.
  3. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Emission facts: idling vehicle emissions. April 1998. Accessed at http://www.epa.gov/oms/consumer/f98014.pdf
  4. Calogero A.E. et al. Environmental car exhaust pollution damages human sperm chromatin and DNA. Journal of Endocrinological Investigation (2011). 34;E139-E143
  5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2002) Health assessment document for diesel engine exhaust. Prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment, Washington, DC, for the Office of Transportation and Air Quality; EPA/600/8-90/057F. Available from: National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA; PB2002-107661, and <http://www.epa.gov/ncea>.
  6. HEI Panel on the Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution. (2010) Traffic-Related Air Pollution: A Critical Review of the Literature on Emissions, Exposure, and Health Effects. HEI Special Report 17. Health Effects Institute, Boston, MA.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2012-05-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "Idling Reduction." SmartWay Transport.
  9. http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/life/health/article/76026--city-health-officials-consider-beefing-up-anti-idling-bylaw%7CCity Health Officials Consider Beefing Up Anti-Idling Bylaw
  10. http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/onstreet/idling.htm Idling Control By-law
  11. http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/life/health/article/76026--city-health-officials-consider-beefing-up-anti-idling-bylaw Archived 2010-07-11 at the Wayback Machine City Health Officials Consider Beefing Up Anti-Idling
  12. http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/idle-free Idle-Free - Help Make Mississauga an Idle-Free Zone!
  13. http://www.oakville.ca/anti-idling.htm Archived 2010-08-19 at the Wayback Machine Anti-Idling
  14. http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=2432 Anti-idling By-law,City of Waterloo, Ontario,Canada
  15. http://www.reddeer.ca/City+Government/City+Services+and+Departments/Public+Works/Anti+idling+policy.htm Anti-idling By-law,City of Waterloo, Ontario,Canada
  16. http://www.greatersudbury.ca/cms/index.cfm?app=div_earthcare&lang=en&currID=9749 Archived 2010-12-10 at the Wayback Machine Greater Sudbury's Anti-Idling Campaign
  17. http://www.planningforpeople.ca/is/sustainability_planning/energy/fuel/end_idling.asp Anti-idling Policy
  18. http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=16541 Vancouver's anti-idling law takes effect; Association wants truckers exempt
  19. http://bcag.mybrockville.com/node/113 Hamilton approves anti-idling bylaw
  20. http://www.townofajax.com/Page3138.aspx Archived 2010-01-15 at the Wayback Machine Anti-Idling Policy
  21. http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/environment/city_hall/getgreen/ecosystem/air/idling/index_en.html Anti-Idling
  22. http://www.city.vaughan.on.ca/environment/anti_idling.cfm Archived 2008-05-21 at the Wayback Machine Anti Idling Program - The City of Vaughan is idle-free, please turn off your engine!
  23. "Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance" (PDF). Bilingual Laws Information System. Department of Justice.
  24. U.S. Department of Energy. Alternative and advanced vehicles. (2011) http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/idle_reduction_research.htm%5B%5D
  25. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental technology verification program.(2012) http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/std/etv/center-apc.html
  26. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Smart way.(2011) http://www.epa.gov/smartway/basic-info/index.htm
  27. U.S. Department of Energy. Idle reduction incentives and laws. (2011) http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/idle_reduction_laws.html Archived 2012-04-01 at the Wayback Machine
  28. U.S. Department of Energy. Colorado incentives and laws for idle reduction. http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/progs/ind_state_laws.php/CO/IR Archived 2011-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
  29. Denver the Mile High City. Idling vehicles. (2011) http://www.denvergov.org/OutdoorAirQuality/SmokingIdlingVehicles/tabid/424914/Default.aspx Archived 2008-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
  30. Engines off! Denver. Engines off! Denver. (2008) http://enginesoff.com/index.html Archived 2011-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
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