An easy way to have an impact on air quality - turn off your car engine while parked!What the Town is doing
Oakville is one of the municipalities to take action against unnecessary vehicle idling. On August 12, 2002, Oakville Town Council passed the Anti-Idling By-Law to make it an offence to permit a vehicle to idle for more than five consecutive minutes, except in certain circumstances.
All of us who drive cars can reduce our idling. In addition to our personal travelling habits, businesses can find some significant savings and increase efficiencies, particularly those that have fleets of vehicles for moving goods or people.
All Town fleet vehicles have stickers reminding staff not to idle. These are also applied to all equipment as a reminder. An education campaign is underway with staff that is linked to the smog reduction education campaign also developed for staff. These programs work to improve air quality.
What you can do
- Turn the engine off! Remember to turn the car off when waiting for your child at the school - car emissions are particularly harmful for smaller bodies as they have a higher intake of air relative to their body size than adults.
- When you go to the drive-through turn the car off as you wait - remember the exhaust fumes can go into the building and cause problems for the staff.
- Look at reducing car usage - can children walk to school rather than be driven?
- Talk to your friends and others about creating idling free zones.
- Encourage others to turn their engines off.
By not idling you will:
- Save money - Idling for ten minutes a day wastes an average of 100 litres of gas per year. Reduce wear and tear on your vehicle's engine - excessive idling can damage engine components.
- Assist in protecting our climate and air - you will help reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information on the Town's by-law contact the Manager of By-law Enforcement at 905-845-6601, ext. 3252 or e-mail mfogarty@oakville.ca.
