I have been blogging about vehicle idling and the damage it can do to your wallet and the environment. The rule of thumb is to turn your engine off if you plan on sitting idle for more than 30 seconds. No, it won’t hurt the engine and no, idling won’t help your car warm up.
But, even if everyone turned their vehicles off, there is still another idling threat – school buses. It is estimated that each day, 24 million kids in the U.S. ride school buses. That means there are about 600,000 school buses on the road each day. Many school buses run on diesel, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said produces harmful fumes. These fumes can contain up to 21 chemicals that can cause cancer or other serious side effects.
We all know our school systems aren’t made of money. There is clean diesel technology and schools may choose to purchase new buses that use this, but that won’t happen overnight.
What can you do to try to encourage your school district to limit idling by school buses? Star your own anti-idling campaign. Contact your school district with your concerns about the harmful fumes. Most school buses are parked nose to tail, which leaves the fumes from the first bus aiming directly at the bus behind it. Ask if there are any parking alternatives, such as parallel parking of the buses with the front ends facing the school so students walking by aren’t exposed to the fumes. Ask the school district to have the drivers turn the buses off rather than sitting idle.
You can get the PTO and other parents involved in the campaign. If you need ammunition for your fight, check out the EPA’s “What You Should Know About Diesel Exhaust and School Bus Idling” fact sheet or the state of New Hampshire’s Environmental Services school bus driver tip card.
(This image has been released into the public domain by its author, Dori.)