Anti-Idling
The millions of Canadians who drive vehicles every day can take 
actions to help save fuel and money, and reduce tailpipe emissions that contribute to climate change and air pollution. Some actions include, avoiding jackrabbit starts, maintaining proper tire pressure, carefully planning trips by combining errands, or even walking or taking a bus instead of the car. But one of the easiest actions that motorists can take is to avoid unnecessary idling.
Many people are unaware of these basic idling-related facts:
- With today's engines, the best way to warm it up is to drive it - assuming your windows are clear. Modern engines need less than 30 seconds of warm-up idling.
- 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting your engine.
- Idling can actually damage your engine components and reduce engine life by 20%.
- Reducing idling by just 10 minutes a day saves of $70 per year in fuel AND reduces greenhouse gas emission by 1/4 tonne a year!
As part of the City's commitment to protect the natural environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, an anti-idling bylaw was adopted by New Westminster City Council in October 2008.
According to the bylaw, idling for more than three minutes is prohibited on city streets. Please review the Anti-idling Bylaw for more information and the exemptions to the rule.
Did you know?
This anti-idling initiative is supported by both the Federal government and the Province of BC.
Please check out their websites for more information:Natural Resources Canada