just the facts
The State of Vermont's school bus idling law, enacted in 2007: ACT 48. AN ACT RELATING TO THE IDLING OF MOTOR VEHICLE ENGINES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. (S.13) It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: Sec. 1. 23 V.S.A. § 1282(f) is added to read:
(f) Subject to state board of education rules, which may provide for
limited idling, the operator of a school bus shall not idle the engine
while waiting for children to board or to exit the vehicle at a school
and shall not start the engine until ready to leave the school
premises. The board, in consultation with the agency of natural
resources, the department of health, and the department of motor
vehicles, shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. The rules
shall set forth periods or circumstances that reasonably require the
idling of the engine, including periods when it is necessary to operate
defrosting, heating, or cooling equipment to ensure the health or
safety of the driver or passengers or to operate auxiliary equipment;
and periods when the engine is undergoing maintenance or inspection. Sec. 2. SCHOOL BOARDS; VEHICULAR IDLING
Nothing in this act or in department of education rules shall prevent a
school board from adopting idling policies for motor vehicles other
than school buses when present on school premises. By January 1, 2008,
the department of education shall develop a model policy relating to
idling of vehicles other than school buses to be distributed to schools
for their use. Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE This act shall take effect on passage. The rules required by this act shall take effect during the 2007–2008 academic year. Approved: May 25, 2007 Vermont's Unattended Motor Vehicles law
is mainly designed to discourage vehicle theft (no insurance coverage
for stolen vehicles resulting from running unattended), but can also be
applied toward idling enforcement. Here's the statute: Title 23: Motor Vehicles Chapter 13: OPERATION OF VEHICLES 23 V.S.A. § 1111. Unattended motor vehicle § 1111. Unattended motor vehicle
No person shall permit a motor vehicle to stand unattended without
first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key from
the ignition and effectively setting the brake, air temperatures
permitting, and, when the vehicle is standing upon a grade, turning the
front of the front wheels toward the curb or side of the highway. This
section does not apply to authorized emergency vehicles. (Added 1971,
No. 258 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 1, 1973.) Burlington Code of Ordinances, Sec. 20-55 (e)
No person shall leave idling for more than five (5) minutes any motor
vehicle in any area of the city during the period from April 1 of every
year to November 1 of the same year, except in the following instances: (1) Motors used to run refrigeration units may be left idling to permit uninterrupted refrigeration; (2) A motor vehicle may be left idling if necessary for the repair of that vehicle;
(3) This provision shall not apply to motor vehicles which must be kept
idling in order to install, maintain or repair equipment or
infrastructure. (4) This provision shall not apply in any situation
in which the health or safety of a driver or passenger requires the
idling of the vehicle. Massachusetts General Law ch. 90
§ 16A. Unnecessary Operation of Engine of Stopped Motor Vehicle
Prohibited; Exceptions; Penalty. No person shall cause, suffer, allow
or permit the unnecessary operation of the engine of a motor vehicle
while said vehicle is stopped for a foreseeable period of time in
excess of five minutes. This section shall not apply to (a) vehicles
being serviced, provided that operation of the engine is essential to
the proper repair thereof, or (b) vehicles engaged in the delivery or
acceptance of goods, wares, or merchandise for which engine assisted
power is necessary and substitute alternate means cannot be made
available, or (c) vehicles engaged in an operation for which the engine
power is necessary for an associate power need other than movement and
substitute alternate power means cannot be made available provided that
such operation does not cause or contribute to a condition of air
pollution. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be
punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for the first
offense, nor more than five hundred dollars for each succeeding offense. This is NOT a law, but for Vermont, Idle-Free VT advocates an all motor vehicle idling law (similar to laws in Massachusetts, Hawaii and by-laws of many Canadian municipalities): No
person shall allow in the State of Vermont any motor vehicle that is
designed to operate on public roads to idle in excess of three (3)
consecutive minutes in any 60 minute period for gasoline-powered
vehicles; five (5) consecutive minutes in any 60 minute period for
diesel-powered vehicles, with the following exceptions: (1) The
vehicle is forced to remain motionless on a public road because of
traffic conditions over which the operator has no control; (2) The vehicle is being used as an emergency vehicle in an emergency situation; (3) Required by a federal, state, or local law or official, but only to the extent necessary to comply with such requirement;
(4) The vehicle’s engine is providing auxiliary power for activities
other than heating or air conditioning, such as loading, refrigeration,
well drilling, or farming; (5) Running the vehicle’s engine is necessary for maintenance, servicing, repair, or diagnostic purposes;
(6) Running the vehicle’s engine during adverse weather conditions is
necessary to ensure the safe operation of the vehicle; or (7) The
ambient air temperature is below 20 degrees Fahrenheit for
gasoline-powered vehicles; below 32 degrees Fahrenheit for
diesel-powered vehicles, and idling of the vehicle is necessary to
ensure the safety or health of the passengers or driver.
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