Letting your car idle while in park might not seem like a big deal. Many of us of a certain generation were taught, in fact, that it was safer to let your car idle before you drove it. However, letting your car idle is actually detrimental to the modern automotive engine, wastes gasoline, and causes environmental damage. Modern engines do not, in fact, need more than a few seconds or idling time before they can be driven safely. Turning your vehicle off and on does not cause engine damage, drain the battery or waste gas.
Batteries now use less power per engine start, have greater power reserves and recharge faster. Starters are also stronger and more reliable. The amount of wear and tear caused by restarting a car is now negligible. In addition, engineers now estimate that it is more fuel efficient to turn a car off and on then to leave it running as long as the car will be off for more than 10 seconds. Modern electronic ignition systems and more efficient batteries mean that if you are going to be idling for more than 10 seconds, it is better for the car, the engine, the pocketbook and the environment if you turn off the car and restart it when you are ready to go.
Exhaust from idling vehicles can pose health risks as exposure to exhaust can cause lung and respiratory problems. Exhaust also exacerbates asthma and allergies. Finally, the carbon dioxide emissions from exhaust contribute to global warming.
Obviously, a hybrid car which eliminates idling even when a car is stopped involuntarily (for example at a red light) is the best possible method of eliminating idling and emissions, but for those of us with traditional vehicles, the bottom line is that choosing not to idle is better for your car, saves gasoline, and therefore money, and helps reduce emissions that cause global warming. Choosing not to idle in our cars may be one of the simplest and most effortless things we can do to help our environment.
It can be uncomfortable to approach people who might be idling in their car and explain to them the benefits of choosing not to idle. Many people see it as criticism instead of education. The best way to encourage people in vehicles not to idle is to encourage local governments and institutions to make no idling a priority, to post no idling signs at those places where idling is common and to educate their communities about the benefits of eliminating idling.
