Seattle School District, WA Anti-Idling Policy
Seattle School District,
WA,
US
Type: Policy
Status: Adopted on 12/04/07
Source File: http://www.seattleschools.org/area/conservation/Documents/News/120407_AntiIdling.pdf
Description:
The Seattle Public Schools Maintenance Department is working towards protecting public health and conserving resources by committing to reduce vehicle idling. In addition to maintenance vehicles, idling is no longer permitted in the parking lots at the Stanford Center.
Vehicle exhaust is the leading source of hazardous air pollution in Washington. According to the American Lung Association, toxic air pollutants account for an additional 700 cases of cancer for every 1 million Washingtonians. That’s nearly 375 people in Seattle alone! Idling is also bad for our kids. Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children and the cause of most school absences. Their symptoms increase as a result of vehicle exhaust.
Contrary to popular belief, idling is not an effective way to warm up a vehicle. Excessive idling is actually hard on your engine because it isn’t working at peak operating temperature and fuel does not undergo complete combustion. Driving warms up vehicles more efficiently. Frequent restarting has little impact on engine components like the battery and starter motor. Small costs in component maintenance will likely be recovered several times over in fuel savings.
If you will be stopped for more than 10 seconds, remember to turn your engine off!