Idle Reduction & Fuel Economy
When drivers idle their engines or leave their engines on without driving, they not only produce additional emissions but also incur costs, cause noise pollution, and reduce the air quality around them. According to Argonne National Laboratory, American vehicles use up more than 6 billion gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline—without even moving. Approximately half of that fuel is wasted by people idling their passenger vehicles.
Idle reduction describes systems and practices that reduce the amount of time drivers idle their engines so as to prevent these negative effects from occurring. That includes drivers independently turning off cars when not moving as well as built-in technologies that automatically shut down a vehicle’s engine after a period of inactivity. Idle reduction plays a part in improving our fuel economy by using less petroleum and reducing our dependence on imported oil. For more information on idle reduction and related technologies, please see the AFDC's idle reduction page.
SmartWay is a program by the Environmental Protection Agency that aims to help companies advance supply chain sustainability by measuring, benchmarking, and improving freight transportation efficiency. The New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition is a proud SmartWay affiliate and honored to provide education on improving our supply chains in a clean and sustainable manner. For more information, click here.
IdleBox is an electronic education and outreach toolkit created by the Department of Energy to educate vehicle and fleet owners about idle reduction. The toolkit covers how to reduce idling for a variety of vehicles including personal vehicles, light, medium, and heavy-duty fleet vehicles, and emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances. For more information, click here.
