Story By: Chrys George

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – This seemingly innocuous habit is significantly more detrimental than most people realize.

An idle free zone sign in Portland, Oregon (Photo Credit: Eli Duke https://www.flickr.com/photos/elisfanclub/5644738303/)

Wasted fuel

From an economic standpoint, this is the most obvious reason to avoid idling in your car. Some might think that if your car isn’t moving, less fuel is being burned. This is not true. The North Carolina Department of Environment Quality (DEQ) states that for each hour that a typical car spends idle, one fifth of a gallon of gasoline is burned. For diesel, this is significantly worse. A typical light duty truck burns about a whole gallon of gas. Considering how costly it’s been to fill your car with gas lately, this is a clear reason to not leave your car running if possible.

Vehicle damage

The damage that idling can do to your car is another economic incentive to turn your car off when you can. According to the North Carolina DEQ, since the car isn’t moving, the fuel in your engine isn’t combusting properly. This can lead to fuel residue that can contaminate the oil in your engine and make your spark plugs dirty.

Health risks

Most people know that driving a car that burns gasoline emits carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, but as mentioned earlier, it is a common misconception that idling in your car doesn’t burn as much fuel as driving it would.

UM Environmental Science professor Dr. Danielle Jennings says that, “An estimate of one minute of idling produces about three packs of cigarettes worth of carbon monoxide.” The effects of this are multiplied in densely populated areas like major cities, which is why you can be fined in these places if you idle your car for too long.

Anyone with preexisting respiratory or cardiovascular conditions is obviously at risk from this, but it also increases the risk of children developing these conditions as well. Dr. Jennings says, “So kids are smaller, they’re developing. They are actually way more prone to developing problems from this, or if they already have things like asthma, they are much more susceptible to the side effects than full adults because their bodies are smaller, and they can’t handle as much stress.”

Environmental damage

With how much damage idling can do to your health, it shouldn’t be surprising that it is incredibly detrimental to the environment. According to the North Carolina DEQ, vehicle emissions are the number one source of air pollution in many areas.

Considering all that has been said, idling isn’t always avoidable. Some people might be sensitive to heat, so turning off the air conditioning in their car while stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic could be harmful to them. However, it is important that people are aware of the effects of idling and try to avoid doing it when possible.