Newmarket continues its commitment to being idle-free and promoting the negative effects idling has on the environment while encouraging positive driving habits.
For more information, view our anti-idling brochure or call 905-895-5193.
Why should you break the habit?
Everyone is encouraged to break the habit of idling because it affects:
Your 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.
Your health
- Health Canada has estimated that over 5000 Canadians die prematurely each year because of air pollution, and thousands more become unnecessarily ill.
- Air pollution causes unnecessary difficulty for elderly people and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma.
Your wallet
- 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 over $100 per year in needlessly burned fuel.
Your car engine- Since an idling engine is not operating at its peak temperature, fuel combustion is incomplete resulting in fuel residues that can damage engine components.
- Excessive idling can also cause water to condense in the vehicle's exhaust, leading to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system.
