Tip of the Month
Help to stop idling and idling myths
October 15, 2007Idling for 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting your engine.
Frequently turning off and restarting a vehicle has little impact on a vehicle’s battery or starter motor. Component wear caused by restarting an engine adds little to annual repair costs – and can be recovered several times over in fuel savings from reduced idling.
Idling produces more emissions per minute than driving.
Driving is the best way to heat up your engine. A vehicle’s catalytic converter needs to be hot (400 to 800 degrees Celsius) before it can effectively clean pollutants from its exhaust.
Traffic areas around schools – where vehicles are often left idling – often show significantly higher pollution levels outside – and inside – their buildings.
Calgary has the highest transportation-generated carbon dioxide emissions of any city in Canada.