Idling gets you nowhere! Its something we don’t think about – a habit that we do unconsciously. Winnipeg driver spend up to 25% of their time idling…and not going anywhere! Idling is not only an enormous waste of fuel but also a huge contributor to air-polluting emissions.
Idling Costs millions! Here are some reasons not to idle:
- When your vehicle is idling your engine is still burning 2.4 to 4 litres of gas an hour.
- We average 8 minutes idling each day. That’s roughly 75 million minutes of idling, which burns 2.2 million litres of gasoline each day.
- Excessive idling is hard on engine because it is not operating at the performance level it was designed for. This can cause incomplete combustion which contaminates the engine oil, reducing lubrication, and causing engine wear.
- It is bad for your health. Pollutants from combustion of fossil fuels include sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and volatile organic compounds.
- Particulate matter (airborne particles) contribute and aggravate respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.
- The carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere is a major contributor to human-related climate change.
Here are just a few of the places we commonly idle:
- In school zones while dropping off or picking their kids;
- When waiting at a drive-thru for their morning coffee;
- Waiting in line at the gas station to refuel or wash their car;
- When running short errands;
- When warming up their car in cold weather;
- Stopped at railway crossings;
- Construction zones.
Source: Climate Change Connection by permission
Take the time to identify the times during your day that you spend idling and watch for “Idle Free Zones.” By turning off your vehicle when stopped for more than 10 seconds, you will save yourself money on fuel. You will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) and health-harming pollution. If Canadian motorists reduced their idling by just 3 minutes a day, it would be equivalent to taking 320,000 off the road for the entire year!
Healthy Communities Don’t Idle
Source: Climate Change Connection by permission
For more information on starting an Idle-Free Zone campaign at your school or workplace contact Climate Change Connection at climate.connection@mts.net or call (204) 943-4836.
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