Car engine shutoff rule is no idle threat
Most residents probably don't know it, but letting your car idle unnecessarily is against the law. One town where that may come as no surprise is Kingston.
It's a "no-idling town," said Police Chief Joseph Rebello. "We posted signs at schools and places where parents are waiting."
The move to make motorists aware of the negative effects of idling has picked up as attention focuses on soaring energy costs, deteriorating air quality, and global warming.
Vehicle idling not only wastes energy, pollutes the atmosphere, and accelerates global warming, say environmental advocates, it violates Chapter 90, Section 16A of the Massachusetts General Laws.
The law states that no one should "allow or permit the unnecessary operation of the engine of a motor vehicle while said vehicle is stopped for a foreseeable period of time in excess of five minutes."
The law recognizes a few exceptions:
It's OK to idle if the vehicle is being serviced;
Idling is permitted for deliveries of cold items that need engine-powered refrigeration;
And if the engine is needed to operate such accessories as a power lift, then it may be left on.
Other than that, five minutes is the limit before you are vulnerable to a fine. For a first offense, it's up to $100.
In reality, the fine is more a threat than a reality.
Idling is indeed against the law, but "but the problem is they leave it to the locals to enforce it," said Mark Beaton, the Kingston selectman who pushed his town to adopt a no-idling policy.
After Kingston adopted the policy last winter, Beaton said, the town drew up warning tickets, telling motorists to take corrective action.
He also proposed that officers ticket and fine offending motorists. But fellow selectmen, not wanting to play the part of the heavy, refused to endorse that.
"Shame on them," said Beaton.
However, Rebello has made sure that police officers avoid wasting fuel and wearing out cruisers by idling.
Police officers were sometimes in the habit of leaving cruisers running all summer with air conditioning on - until Rebello took over the department.
"I questioned the practice," he said. "Only on the South Shore have I ever seen this practice."
Beaton also cites actions by some area trucking companies that have moved to reduce the time drivers idle to warm up their trucks on cold mornings.
Kingston appears to be the only community in the region with an aggressive no-idling policy, although others may support the concept in less high-profile ways.
In a few other towns that take the anti-idling law seriously - Belmont and Lenox, like Kingston, consider themselves no-idling towns - energy-conscious officials emphasize public education. That includes posting signs at schools and other gathering places to alert residents to the benefits of not leaving the engine running while waiting for children to come out of school or finish activities.
Other towns, such as Dedham, are discussing ways to reduce idling by town vehicles.
Many people don't know what idling means, according to Ian Todreas, a senior environmental policy analyst for Lexington-based ERG, who helped make Belmont a no-idle town.
Todreas said people think that if they are listening to the radio, or staying warm, or running the air conditioning on a hot day, it is allowed.
Rebello said that, in the end, an enforcement campaign may not be needed to stop drivers from wasting gas and money by idling.
"The price of gas may take care of that," he said.
Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com. 