Why you should Break the Habit

Idling affects your car engine.

• Since an idling engine is not operating at its peak temperature, fuel combustion is incomplete. As a result, fuel residues can condense on cylinder walls, contaminate oil and damage engine components. This can increase fuel consumption by 4 to 5 per cent.
• Excessive idling can cause water to condense in the vehicle’s exhaust. This can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system.

Idling affects your health.

• The Ontario Medical Association estimates 1900 die each year prematurely, with health care costs for those affected nearing $9.9 billion per year.
• Air pollution causes unnecessary difficulty for elderly people and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma.
• Health Canada has estimated that over 5000 Canadians die prematurely each year because of air pollution, and thousands more become unnecessarily ill.

Idling affects the environment.

• Vehicles emit nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxides and volatile organic compounds.
• Contaminants from vehicle exhausts are major contributors to climate change, poor air quality and smog.
• If every driver of a light-duty vehicle in Canada avoided idling for just five minutes a day, it would prevent more than 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.

Idling costs you money.

• Research has shown that if you are going to be stopped for more than 10 seconds (except in traffic), you will actually save on fuel by turning off then restarting the engine. The catalytic converter will stay warm for up to 25 minutes after the engine is shut off so frequent restarts will not produce the large amounts of harmful emissions equivalent to cold starts.
• If every driver of a light-duty vehicle in Canada were to avoid idling for just five minutes a day, it would collectively save 1.6 million litres of fuel and more than $1 million.
• Idling a vehicle for 10 minutes a day uses more than 100 litres of gasoline per year. At today’s gas prices, this equates to a loss of $86 per year in needlessly burned fuel.