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Keeping Up with Truck Idling Penalties

It goes without saying that unnecessary engine idle wastes fuel -- as much as one gallon per hour. Spread that cost out over several hours per day throughout the year, and that’s a huge chunk taken out of your bottom line.

But there is also the legal aspect to consider, as many states and local governments across the country are cracking down on excessive idling, with potentially steep fines (and imprisonment) for violations.

The challenge is that anti-idle laws are different across the nation, from state to state (and even from state to county to city), depending on where your truck happens to be operating at that moment. When you’re an expediter hauling freight across state, county and city lines, it can be confusing trying to decipher how to comply with the wide range of regulations -- and protect yourself from incurring penalties.

Take the idle reduction laws in Missouri, for example.

The state government limits truck idle to five minutes in any hour, with the exception of 30 minutes per hour when waiting to load and unload. What happens if you fail to comply? Right now the fines are “to be determined.”

But not so in the City of St. Louis, Missouri. The City fines are up to $100 per violation, with allowable idling at five minutes per hour (or 10 minutes if the temperature is below 32-degrees Fahrenheit).

Yet, the County of St. Louis ups the ante considerably, limiting idle to three consecutive minutes, with a maximum fine of $1,000 and/or one year imprisonment. Ouch.

Same state. Three different sets of idle laws and penalties.

Then there’s the State of Georgia, which does not have idling laws on the books. But if you’re in the City of Atlanta, be careful. There’s a limit of 15 minutes of idle per hour, with a minimum fine of $500.

If you’re delivering freight to the west coast, keep in mind that California’s idle regulations are perhaps the most stringent (and expensive) in the nation. Fines start at $300 and can be as high as $1000 per day for more than five minutes of idle in a given hour.

California’s idle laws also apply to using idle-reduction technologies, such as auxiliary power units (APUs). For example, you’re prohibited from operating a diesel-fueled auxiliary power system for more than five minutes within a 100 feet of a residential area. And fuel-fired heaters (such as those by Espar and Webasto) must meet certain emission standards.

(Related content:  Air Heater Systems for Expedite Cargo Vans.)

Yet, there are states (and their local governments) that don’t currently have any idle limits in effect, such as Florida, Alabama, and Nebraska.

So, how do you keep up with all the variations and changes with idle regulations across the U.S.?

The go-to resource is the American Transport Research Institute (ATRI) that regularly updates its “Compendium of Idle Regulations”.

While ATRI cautions that its Idling Compendium is for “reference purposes only” and should not be “relied upon for regulatory compliance,” it is useful for getting a big-picture view of what idle laws and penalties are in effect across the country.

The Compendium also provides links to specific government ordinances, giving you the opportunity to dig deeper into the details.    

To learn more about the latest idle laws (and the technologies that can help you comply with them), consult these online resources:

U.S. Department of Energy’s National Idle Reduction Network News U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Government Funding for Idle Reduction Technologies (APUs) EPA SmartWay Verified Idle Reduction Technologies Alternative Fuels Data Center Argonne National Laboratory