Idle Free World

10 seconds. A mere 10 seconds is the length of time Natural Resources’ Canada recommends you leave your engine idling while running errands, chatting with a friend, waiting at the ferry or picking your children up after school. Avoiding unnecessary engine idling is something that we can all immediately do to minimize our contribution to greenhouse gases. Vehicle emissions greatly contribute to the pollutants that cause greenhouse gases — the gases responsible for the climatic warming we are experiencing on Earth.

Engine idling reduction strategies are one example of how communities around the world can assist citizens in taking responsibility for their greenhouse gas emissions.

Vehicle Emissions

Engine idling and vehicle emissions are a serious contributor to greenhouse gases. In Canada, the transportation sector is the one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. For every litre of gasoline used, the average car produces about 2.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Natural Resources Canada advises, ‘If every driver of a light-duty vehicle in Canada avoided idling for just five minutes a day, we would prevent more than 1.6 million tons of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere each year.’ Many nations around the world cite transportation as the largest producer of carbon dioxide in their countries.

Engine idling reduction strategies are one example of how communities around the world can assist citizens in taking responsibility for their climate change contributions. Policies to reduce engine idling vary from community to community and country to country.

Italy and France allow 10 seconds of idling, while drivers can idle for 40 seconds in Germany and 60 seconds in Holland.

World Wide Reduction

In the USA, the reduction of unnecessary engine idling is slowly permeating into the mainstream consciousness, however there is much room for improvement. Currently trucks are permitted to idle for 5 minutes in each one-hour period. Many Canadian communities allow 3 minutes of idling in a one hour period. Even though North Americans are slow to catch on about the need to reduce unnecessary engine idling, much of the rest of the world is making strides to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases.

In Sweden, individuals have long refrained from engine idling when stopped in vehicle traffic. In Switzerland, there are laws that you have to turn your engine off if you are waiting at a red traffic light. Scotland and England have cracked down on engine idling through education campaigns, fines and air pollution awareness strategies. In other European countries, permissible durations of engine idling vary from 10 seconds to 3 minutes. Italy and France allow 10 seconds, while drivers can idle for 40 seconds in Germany and 60 seconds in Holland. Several cities in Taiwan have banned engine idling effective in 2008. Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore allow 3 minutes of engine idling in any one-hour period. Fines and enforcement measures varies country to country.

Hybrid vehicles do not emit emissions when stopped in traffic. Electrical cars emit no vehicle emissions when ‘idling’ or in traffic.

Hybrid vehicles do not emit emissions when stopped in traffic. Electrical vehicles emit no vehicle emissions when ‘idling’ or in traffic. Reducing unnecessary engine idling is not the same as reducing the quantity of fossil fuel burning cars on the road, but it is a good first step towards accepting vehicles are major contributors to greenhouses gases. The idle free movement just might become a worldwide initiative within the next decade.

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