Anti-Idling Effort

ANTI-IDLING CAMPAIGN BASIC INFORMATION

Cincinnati Public Schools was recently awarded a grant in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Health Department. Find out more about: CAIC Grant Web site

The NIEHS grant purpose and goals:

Anti-Idling Campaign NIEHS Grant# 1R21ES017957-01

Idling Causes Air Pollution

An idling vehicle spews air toxics, chemicals, gases and particulate matter ("so not") into the air, contributing to regional haze, acid rain and global climate change.

• • An idling vehicle emits 20 more times more pollution than one traveling at 30 miles per hour.

  • Every gallon of gas burned produces more than 20 pounds of greenhouse gases!

Idling is Unhealthy

• • Breathing in exhaust can aggravate asthma, allergies, and cardiovascular disease.

  • Exhaust emissions increase school absences, ER visits, and even premature deaths.

  • Emissions are still present and harmful, even when you can't see the exhaust.

Children are more sensitive to air pollution because they breathe 50 percent more air per pound of body weight than adults.

MYTHS AND FACTS

MYTH 1: It's important to warm up the engine with a long idle period, especially in cold weather.

FACT 1: With today's school bus engines, bus and engine manufacturers routinely suggest a warm up time of less than five minutes. In fact, running an engine at low speed (idling) causes significantly more wear on internal parts compared to driving at regular speeds.

MYTH 2: It's better for an engine to run at low speed (idling) than to run at regular speeds.

FACT 2: Running an engine at low speed causes twice the wear on internal parts compared to driving at regular speeds.

MYTH 3: The engine must be kept running in order to operate the school bus safety equipment (flashing lights, stop sign). It's impossible to run this equipment off the internal circuitry of the bus because the battery will run down

FACT 3: Safety equipment can be operated without the engine running through re-wired circuitry for up to an hour with no ill-effects on the electrical system of the bus.

MYTH 4: Idling is necessary to keep the cabin comfortable.

FACT 4: Depending on the weather, many buses will maintain a comfortable interior temperature for a while without idling. Idling is also not an efficient way to keep the cabin warm. Bus routes should be timed so children and drivers do not need to spend a lot of extra time on the bus when it is not en route, particularly in hot or cold weather. In addition, auxiliary heaters can be purchased and installed to keep the cabin comfortable.

MYTH 5: It’s better to just leave the engine idling because a "cold start" produces more pollution.

FACT 5: An EPA study (htttp://www.epa.gov/Region2/cleanschoolbus/study.htm) found that the emission pulse measured after the school bus is restarted contains less carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and other pollutants than if the school bus idled continuously over a 10-minute period. The analysis indicated that continuous idling for more than three minutes emitted more fine particle (soot) emissions than at restart.