The Tobacco Act has had a positive effect on people's behavior and life habits. Many decided to stop smoking to preserve their health and their entourage's. It's also benefiting their budget. The question now is: should
we go one step further and implement an Anti-Idle Law? Sure, there's a couple of rules, in some areas, that are more or less enforced. But I'm talking about a true anti-idle law. Some people still smoke one or two packs of cigarettes every day, while others produce 2.4 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) every hour. And they are aplenty. If the anti-smoke law is good for smokers, why shouldn't it be the same for drivers?
You're stuck in a gridlock, you stop by the convenience store to buy a carton of milk, you wait for a friend to pick him or her up... and you keep your engine revving at idle. While doing so, you burn on average 1.8 L of fuel per hour -- depending on your vehicle, obviously. Considering an hour of idle time per week, it will cost you almost $80 a year to keep your car revving... needlessly. What about commercial and delivery trucks that spend up to 60 percent of their time at idle? On top of that, there are dirty spark plugs, prematurely worn components, contaminated engine and transmission oils, greenhouse gas emissions and air quality deterioration.
In addition to the 2.4 kg of CO2, when you burn one liter of gasoline, you
produce toxic gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). During severe cold weather, you're also contributing to the creation of urban smog. Scared yet?
According to recent studies, Canadians collectively keep their cars idling for more than 1.25 million hours a day during wintertime. That's huge... and unnecessary! If every Canadian did his or her part and cut their idle time by five minutes each day, our global fuel consumption would drop nearly one billion liters -- not to mention all the related benefits.
Remote starters
But there's worse: remote starters! In our kingdom of snow and ice, these gadgets have almost become a necessity. After all, who wants to sit in a frozen seat to drive to work each morning? You only have to press a button on your remote starter fob and comfortably wait inside your house
until your car has warmed up. Some people even let their engine warm up for 30 or 45 minutes while they eat their breakfast, read the newspaper or get dressed.
Did you know that an idling engine can take up to 20 minutes to reach its normal operating temperature? Until the catalytic converter has reached its operating temperature too, the engine produces a greenhouse gas that's much more toxic than CO2. So, why use a remote starter? Is it only to make sure your butt doesn't freeze? A heated cushion could solve your problem! Or is it to help the engine run better? Again, an engine heater will do the trick. What about people who use their remote starter on hot summer days in order to cool their car with the air conditioning? There's a lot of habits to change!
 |
You're stuck in a gridlock, you stop by the convenience store to buy a carton of milk, you wait for a friend to pick him or her up... and you keep your engine revving at idle. While doing so, you burn on average 1.8 L of fuel per hour -- depending on your vehicle, obviously. Considering an hour of idle time per week, it will cost you almost $80 a year to keep your car revving... needlessly. What about commercial and delivery trucks that spend up to 60 percent of their time at idle? On top of that, there are dirty spark plugs, prematurely worn components, contaminated engine and transmission oils, greenhouse gas emissions and air quality deterioration.
In addition to the 2.4 kg of CO2, when you burn one liter of gasoline, you
 |
According to recent studies, Canadians collectively keep their cars idling for more than 1.25 million hours a day during wintertime. That's huge... and unnecessary! If every Canadian did his or her part and cut their idle time by five minutes each day, our global fuel consumption would drop nearly one billion liters -- not to mention all the related benefits.
Remote starters
But there's worse: remote starters! In our kingdom of snow and ice, these gadgets have almost become a necessity. After all, who wants to sit in a frozen seat to drive to work each morning? You only have to press a button on your remote starter fob and comfortably wait inside your house
 |
Did you know that an idling engine can take up to 20 minutes to reach its normal operating temperature? Until the catalytic converter has reached its operating temperature too, the engine produces a greenhouse gas that's much more toxic than CO2. So, why use a remote starter? Is it only to make sure your butt doesn't freeze? A heated cushion could solve your problem! Or is it to help the engine run better? Again, an engine heater will do the trick. What about people who use their remote starter on hot summer days in order to cool their car with the air conditioning? There's a lot of habits to change!