An idling vehicle is one whose engine is running when it is parked or not in motion. Remember, when your car is idling, it is still polluting our air.

Our voluntary program is aimed at distributing signs and materials to partners interested in keeping unnecessary idling under control in their parking lot and pick-up areas. Contact us at air.awareness@ncdenr.gov to learn more or build an anti-idling campaign at your school.

Excessive and unnecessary vehicle idling is a serious, avoidable contributor to air pollution and poor human health. Excessive idling is widespread in all types of vehicles, including cars, buses and trucks. This behavior occurs throughout virtually all transportation activities, including parents picking up children after school, customers waiting in line at a drive-through ATM or restaurant, trucks delivering goods and buses waiting to pick up passengers.

Although some believe that power plants and other smokestack industries are the only major sources of air pollution in North Carolina, in fact, motor vehicles are one of the main contributors to poor air quality. Cars, trucks and other motor vehicles contribute substantially to air quality problems - including ozone, haze, particle pollution, and other pollutants collectively referred to as smog. Highway vehicle emissions account for about one-third of the ozone-forming emissions statewide and up to 70 percent in larger urban counties. Ozone, the state’s most widespread air quality problem, is unhealthy to breathe and damages trees and crops. North Carolina typically ranks among the top 10 states in bad ozone days.

Unnecessary idling contributes to air pollution and has been linked to negative health effects. Please do you part � “Turn of your engine!”

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View Idle Reduction Signs in a larger map