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(NC)-In a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Canadian municipalities are passing anti-idling bylaws, in one case citing "0 miles to the gallon" as reason enough to turn off city vehicles.
Summerside, P.E.I. recently drafted a ban on city vehicles idling, except for emergencies, while Vancouver passed its bylaw last summer.
Ottawa and Toronto brought in their laws in 2004 and 1996 respectively, while Montreal has had a bylaw in effect for years.
According to Natural Resources Canada, with over 17 million light duty vehicles on the road today, if every driver avoided idling for five minutes a day, collectively over the year, we would save 680 million litres of fuel, more than one million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and approximately $646 million a year in fuel costs.
Municipalities have really done their homework on idling - Canadian drivers can, too. Start with the facts, not the myths.
. Idling your car is not the best way to warm it up. The best way to warm it up is to drive it.
. Idling only warms the engine. Not the wheel bearings, steering, suspension, transmission and tires. The best way to warm up these parts is to drive.
. Canadian drivers could save approximately $85 a year just by turning off their cars instead of idling.
. Canadians consume almost 90 litres of gas a year just by idling.
Check out the Idling Calculator to see how much fuel, emissions and money you can save by cutting back on idling at idling.gc.ca.