Schools are at the center of the key aspects of unnecessary vehicle idling. They represent both the challenges  in dealing with it and the opportunites of eliminating it. On the one hand, the transportation network of school buses and other vehicles that serve the school environment presents the challenge of the need to protect the citizens of the school, particularly its students. Drivers must be made aware that idling on the school premises is a harmful practice. On the other hand, schools present a tremendous opportunity to educate future motorists--before acquiring misinformed habits--to avoid unnecessary idling. (Pictured at right: Weybridge Elementary School).
While the process of eliminating unnecessary idling is a slow one with baby steps taken, a much bigger step was taken when the 2007 Vermont legislature passed Act 48--an act relating to the idling of motor vehicle engines on school property. Governor Jim Douglas signed this bill into law on May 25, 2007. In short, while level of compliance cannot be confirmed, the potential windfall from this law is that Vermont's 1,800 school buses no longer idle when Vermont's 75,000 students board or exit buses at school. This alone is having a significantly positive impact on the health of students. But there's more. On an annual basis, these 1,800 school buses, by not idling unnecessarily, are saving up to 100,000 gallons of fuel. At $3.00 a gallon for diesel, that translates into up to $300,000 saved every year by Vermont taxpayers. But there's yet more. The 100,000 gallons avoided translates into up to 1,120 tons of CO2 emissions reductions annually. Improved air quality and health, energy savings, money savings, emissions that cause climate change avoided. It's a big win-win.
Vermont's school bus idling law is unique in that there's an optional provision deeming that the Department of Education shall develop a model policy relating to idling of vehicles other than school buses (parents, faculty, students, delivery, etc.) to be distributed to schools for their use. This provision would be left up to school boards to decide. Citizens concerned about these vehicles idling can lobby their school board to adopt a limited idling policy.
Below is the language of Act 48 and a link to the Vermont Department of Education's model policy relating to the idling of vehicles other than school buses when present on school grounds.
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VERMONT'S IDLING ON SCHOOL PROPERTY LAW
ACT 48. AN ACT RELATING TO THE IDLING OF MOTOR VEHICLE ENGINES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY.
Vermont Department of Education
School Bus Idling Rule
New State Board of Education rule 6001 effective May 1, 2008.
Authorizing legislation:
Sec. 1. 23 V.S.A. § 1282(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. Effective Date: The rules required by this act shall take effect during the 2007–2008 academic year.
6001 State Board of Education Rule #6001 School Bus Idling
6002 Statutory Authority: 23 V.S.A. § 1282(f)
6003 Statement of Purpose
It is the purpose of these rules to implement 23 V.S.A. §1282(f) by providing for the limited idling of school buses in specific circumstances.
6004 Definitions
The following definitions shall apply to these rules:
a. “School Bus” includes all vehicles operated by or for the district for the purpose of transporting the district’s students to or from school or schoolrelated activities, whether the vehicles are owned by the district or contracted from vendors.
b. “School grounds” includes any area adjacent to school buildings and used at any time for school-related activities, including parking lots, playing fields, and driveways.
c. “Idling” means the primary propulsion engine is running while the vehicle is stationary.
6005 Provisions
The district shall communicate this rule to all parents, drivers, and staff. The provisions of this rule shall be incorporated into transportation contracts and agreements.
The employer of a school bus driver shall ensure that the driver is informed of the rule and any related district policy, and that all complaints of noncompliance are reviewed and that appropriate corrective actions are taken.
The operator of a school bus:
a. shall turn off the primary propulsion engine immediately upon arrival at student loading or unloading areas on school grounds, and shall not restart the engine until the bus is loaded or unloaded and is ready to depart; and
b. shall not otherwise idle the bus engine for more than five (5) minutes in a sixty (60) minute period on school grounds.
The provisions of this rule shall not apply under the following conditions:
1. when the engine is required to operate special equipment for disabled persons;
2. when the engine is required to operate safety equipment other than lighting systems, such as windshield defrosters, and the operation of the equipment is necessary at that time to address specific safety, traffic, health, or emergency concerns; and
3. when the vehicle is being serviced and the operation of the engine is essential to the service being performed.
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.
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MEMO TO DEPT. OF EDUCATION RE: IDLING ON SCHOOL GROUNDS
Submitted by Paul Markowitz for the Vermont Coalition to Reduce Vehicle Idling (VCRVI)
DOE Weekly Field Memo – July 22, 2009
From the Department of Education:
• Reduce Idling on School Grounds: Model Policy
Audience: Superintendents, Principals
Act 48 passed by the Legislature in 2007 prohibits school buses from unnecessary idling while on school grounds, and allows school boards to adopt a policy that prohibits all vehicles from idling on school grounds. (Click here for the language of the Act: http://www.idlefreevt.org/schools.index.html). The Department of Education has developed a model policy to assist school boards interested in reducing idling of motor vehicles other than school buses while on school grounds. For more help on adopting a no idling policy, please contact Wayne Michaud at Idle-Free VT at info@idlefreevt.org or Paul Markowitz at the Vermont Sierra Club at paul@markowitzvt.com. For a copy of the model policy developed by the department, visit http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/resources/model_policies.html.
Contact: Cathy Hilgendorf, School Facilities Consultant, at (802) 828-5402 or cathy.hilgendorf@state.vt.us.
[A similar memo was submitted by Paul Markowitz that appeared in the Sept. 2009 newsletter of the Vermont School Boards Assoc.]
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SCHOOL BUS IDLING LINKS
The Air Pollution Control Division of the Vermont Dept. of Environmental Conservation provides this document: Diesel Exhaust from School Buses in Vermont. While the Summary of School Bus Idling Regulations and Initiatives in the Northeast is not up to date, this is an otherwise very informative document.
The New England Asthma Regional Council Clean Buses webpage
The US EPA has a national campaign on school bus idling: Clean School Bus USA
KID CAMPAIGNS: WHAT STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS ARE DOING
"Switch Off! A Pollution Solution" is an idling awareness teaching tool, just a part of EcoKids, a Canadian environmental education resource for students and teachers. The emphasis of Switch Off! is placed on climate change, empowering students--in a fun, interactive web format--with an opportunity to have a significant impact in eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.
"The Children's Clean Air Network--Idle Free for our kids." The Children’s Clean Air Network campaign, based in Nova Scotia, Canada, has a goal to motivating hundreds of employees to go IDLE-FREE, and in the process save $100,000 in gas and avoid 200 tons of greenhouse gas. Find out how they are going about it.
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