City of Vancouver News Release: City of Vancouver's idling bylaw education and enforcement campaign begins

City of Vancouver News Release

September 12, 2006

City of Vancouver’s idling bylaw education and enforcement campaign begins

An education campaign focused on showing how reducing idling makes good environmental and financial sense will be accompanied this fall with enforcement of Vancouver’s idling bylaw.

The educational campaign involves radio, print, and outdoor advertising along with informational postcards distributed through bylaw enforcement staff, schools, community centres, libraries and ICBC sites. It focuses on dispelling common myths around idling, such as:

Myth: Allowing your engine to cool down will cause more emissions and use more gas than just letting it run.
FACT: Recent AirCare tests confirmed that idling your engine uses more fuel and causes more emissions than turning it off and restarting it.

Myth: Frequent engine restarts will harm your engine starter.
FACT: Component wear caused by restarting the engine, estimated at $10 per year, will be recovered many times over in fuel savings from reduced idling.

Myth: You need to idle an engine for several minutes to warm it up in cold weather.
FACT: In cold weather it takes no more than 30 seconds to circulate oil through the engine and the only way to warm up lubricants in other moving parts is to drive the vehicle.

Vancouver City Council enacted the idle free bylaw on July 18, 2006. Parked vehicles are prohibited from idling for more than three minutes. Violators will incur $50 (basic violations) or $100 fines (heavy trucks and unlocked, unattended vehicles). Vehicles idling in order to power equipment for a commercial purpose (such as a refrigerated truck) or public service (such as a fire truck responding to an emergency)are exempt.

Enforcement is intended to support educational efforts and therefore will start with warning tickets and informational postcards, with repeat or problem offenders facing fines. Vancouver’s idling complaint hotline to report frequent offenders is being widely advertised.

The City of North Vancouver has a similar idling bylaw.

Media Inquiries:
Sean Pander: 604.871.6542
Vancouver’s Idling Complaint Hotline: 604.257.2404
Idlefree.ca

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