Guest Perspective

 

Anti-Idling Program

 

(Belmont, MA)  The Belmont Police has always placed public safety high on its priority list.  When possible we also try to maintain or improve the quality of life here in Belmont.  One of the more recent ways of doing this is by encouraging people to minimize the time they spend in their cars stopped and idling.  You only have to look around town and see the blue anti-idling signs.  Keeping vehicle idling to a minimum is not only good for the environment and your wallet, it’s the law.  In Massachusetts, MGL Chapter 60 section 16 provides that a person who allows the unnecessary idling of a vehicle in excess of five minutes can be fined up to $100 for the first offence and up to $500 for each subsequent offence.  The police department’s ultimate goal is for the public to voluntarily minimize the amount of time spent idling,rather than needing police reminders or enforcement.

Here are some facts regarding idling vehicles:

You don’t need to idle your vehicle to warm it up.  A gas powered vehicle will produce more pollution when idling for 10 seconds than if shut off and restarted.  The time trade off for a diesel engine is about 30 seconds.  Obviously idling in traffic is difficult to avoid.

More frequent starts don’t damage motors.  Fleet managers for companies that enforce strict anti-idling rules report that they do not replace starter motors any more frequently than vehicles left running.

Idling your vehicle for 10 minutes uses as much gas as driving 5 miles.  With the current gas prices, minimizing idling makes sense from a purely economic standpoint.  An idling vehicle gets zero miles per gallon.

The anti-idling law provides for common sense exemptions.  For example, a light department bucket truck needs to be running to provide the power to the bucket and allow the worker to reach wires, a refrigerator truck with perishable goods must be kept running, and a school bus must be running to power the flashing lights when dropping off and picking up children.

We realize that changing behavior doesn’t happen overnight, but through education we hope you will join us in making Belmont a healthier place to work and live.  For more information on anti-idling, please visit the web sites of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

 

For more information, Contact:

Lt. Richard J. Santangelo

617-993-2552

 

Richard J. McLaughlin

Chief of Police