Vermont Dept. of Health funds Idle-Free VT schools project
The Vermont Dept. of Health with funding from the federal CDC, has awarded a grant to Idle-Free VT to implement School No Idling Policies (SNIP). This project, in the interest of increasing outdoor air quality by reducing asthma triggers, will seek to increase the number of schools that adopt the model policy in Sec. 2 of the Vermont school bus idling rule for vehicles other than school buses on school grounds. Engaged in the project will be school boards, school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and energy committees. SNIP is running from Sept. 2013 to Aug. 2014.
REQUEST: School boards can be especially swayed by students. We have one great example of a Vermont student-led idle-free project (Barstow Memorial school featured on the SNIP webpage), that resulted in the school board adopting a no idling policy. We would like to know of other Vermont school idle-free projects with student participation (and if they led to school board policy adoptions).
Idle-Free VT concludes Idle-Free for Fleet$ funded project
Idle-Free for Fleet$, a project funded by the Vermont Dept. of Health / CDC in the interest of lowering Vermont’s elevated asthma rate, concluded at the end of August. 37 business and municipal fleets in three Vermont counties — Addison, Orange and Washington — were given presentations showing the the benefits in avoiding unnecessary idling, myths and realities of idling, the health and economic impacts, prohibited idling laws in Vermont, model policies, and encouragement to adopt formal policies. There was also an introduction to green/eco-driving practices. The project final progress report can be seen at idlefreevt.org.
Vehicle owner’s manuals discourage excessive idling
BMW’s 3 Series (and other BMWs) 2013 owner’s manual states: “Do not wait for the engine to warm up while the vehicle remains stationary. Start driving right away, but at moderate engine speeds. This is the fastest way for the cold engine to reach its operating temperature.” Chevrolet Impala’s (and other Chevrolets) 2014 manual states: “Avoid idling the engine for long periods of time.”
Just two of many vehicle owner’s manual sample pages listing various reasons to avoid unnecessary idling — as seen on a dedicated page of the Idle-Free VT website — refuting misconceptions on allowing vehicles to idle – “straight from the horse’s mouth”.
Leave a Reply