WHEREAS, Idling of motor vehicles contributes to global warming and is linked to asthma, decreased lung function, cardiac disease, cancer, and other serious health problems; and

WHEREAS, Childrens lungs are still developing and are especially at risk of developing health problems when they are exposed to elevated levels of pollutants. Monitoring at schools has shown higher levels of benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and other air toxics during the afternoon hour coinciding with parents picking up their children; and

WHEREAS, Asthma is the most common chronic illness among children, the largest cause of school absences, and is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15 years; and

WHEREAS, An idling car wastes about half a gallon of gasoline per hour, and a gallon of burned fuel emits about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide; and

WHEREAS, One minute of idling puts more carbon monoxide into the air than smoking three packs of cigarettes; and

WHEREAS, Idling produces between 10 and 12 percent more emissions than driving for the same amount of gas used due to incomplete combustion and ineffective operation of the catalytic converter; and

WHEREAS, Idling motor vehicles emit particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide; and

WHEREAS, On a daily basis, Americans may be burning as much as 3.8 million gallons of gasoline from voluntary idling, resulting in about 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Annually, the cumulative effect is the useless burning of 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline and the emission of 13 million tons of carbon dioxide; and

WHEREAS, Most people waste one to two tanks of gas every year by idling, and one hour of gasoline engine idle time equals 33 miles of driving; and

WHEREAS, A common myth is that idling is better than turning the car on and off, but idling is actually bad for the car. It is better to turn off the car if the driver is going to idle for more than 10 seconds because it takes about 10 seconds worth of fuel to restart the car. This uses less gas, increases fuel efficiency, and is better for the car; and

WHEREAS, An engine runs at less than ideal operating temperature when idling, which causes water vapor to accumulate in the exhaust system and leads to corrosion; and

WHEREAS, California prohibits school bus idling for any amount of time at schools and within 100 feet of a school (Section 39640 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 2480 of Article 1 of Chapter 10 of Division 3 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations); and

WHEREAS, At least 27 other states and the District of Columbia have laws imposing restrictions on idling at schools; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature encourages motorists to not idle their motor vehicles near places where children congregate, such as schools and parks; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

ACR 160: Motor vehicle idling: children.

Assembly Floor

Senate Floor

Assembly Floor

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