No Idle in California

[The Straight Story]

No Idle in California

Well, it’s been two weeks now since the new anti-idling law went into effect in California, and so far I haven’t seen any signs that A) the world is coming to an end, or B) trucking fleets are bypassing California to avoid the new regulation.

You may recall that the new regulation put in place by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) dictates that trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds can idle for only five minutes. There are exemptions for being stuck due of traffic, weather or mechanical failure, or when being inspected or serviced, or queuing beyond 100 feet of a residential area or if the truck’s engine meets option NOx idling emission standards and the truck is beyond 100 feet from a residential area. Furthermore, drivers can’t operate a diesel-fueled APU for more than five minutes if they are located within 100 feet of a residential area. If your truck has a 2007 or newer engine, your diesel-fueled APU or fuel-fired heater must also meet additional equipment requirements. Oh, and the fines can be as high as $10,000.

The deafening silence from California can only mean one of two things: either the state has chosen not to enforce the new regulation (yet), or every trucking company operating in or through California is complying without complaint. I have to believe that it’s the former, but if so, when will they start enforcing the law, and who will be the first to feel the sting?

http://www.fuelpub.com/interactive/2008/01/18/no-idle-in-california/

from the comments:
# Danielle Bennett Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 2:22 am

Hopefully the fine upstanding individuals who belong to California’s law enforcement will spend the majority of their time fighting crime and lawlessness, rather than harassing truck drivers out of a good night’s sleep. I can understand restricting idling near residential areas, or when the outside temperature is reasonable. But in the summers, outside temps can make the inside of a truck downright miserable. Winters can leave you freezing your bum off. It seems the same whiny individuals who are worried about “tired truckers” are the same people who would gleefully rob us of the ability to get a decent night’s sleep in a climate controlled environment. I drive for a small fleet- 17 trucks, and despite the urging of several drivers, the owner refuses to equip his trucks with APU’s, citing cost constraints.

Aside from this fact, I enjoy working for this company- so quitting is not an option. Yet this summer I fear I’ll be forced to endure more than a few fitful and sweaty night’s sleep only to emerge bleary-eyed and improperly rested, driving a 40 ton vehicle, mingling with the other motorists of California’s often-too-congested highways. The people of California certainly enjoy the luxury of heating and air conditioning in their homes; the electricity has to come from somewhere- fossil fuels, anyone? Perhaps the next step to combatting pollution in California will be to outlaw climate control systems for homes. Maybe they should outlaw homes altogether- after all, building materials rob natural resources and clearing homesites destroys the natural habitats of some furry woodland creatures. Let’s get real here- there are reasonable “anti-idle” laws….and then there’s California. All this law is doing, is pandering to a small but vocal group of eco-extremists. The yearly fires in California easily put more pollution into the atmosphere than do the state’s diesel trucks. Perhaps neighboring states ought to fine California for all the fires?

[Canuckistanian]

1. We have anti-idling laws everywhere here

Signs and actual bylaws. And people are being fined, too.

Just makes sense to me. There's no need to leave an engine idling, wasting fuel and causing pollution.

Especially these days.