Habits. Many are ingrained in our daily lives, from brushing our teeth to drinking coffee.
Breaking habits is challenging, but sometimes the break can benefit our health, environment,
and others around us. A habit we all need to break is idling. People idle in ATM lines, drive-
thrus, school zones, post offices, and even the Recycle Utah line.

Park City and Summit County have one-minute idling ordinances. Listed exceptions include
waiting in traffic, authorized emergency vehicles, auxiliary power for law enforcement or fire and water equipment, refrigeration, drilling, lifts, farming, and battery charging. Other exclusions are inspection or repair of a vehicle, health or safety of a person or service animal, safe driving conditions, and efficient operations of a turbo-charged heavy-duty vehicle. There are no exceptions for hot and cold days.

Decades ago, cars with carburetors needed a warm-up in cold weather. However, today’s
engines with electronic fuel injectors don’t need to reach operating temperature before they can be driven. In fact, warming up your car by idling can damage it long-term. The faster a car
reaches operating temperature, the better it is for keeping the engine’s moving parts in good
condition with lubricated oil.

On freezing mornings, scrape then slowly drive away. Idling also equates to driving miles and
carbon dioxide release. Please check out our community’s idling ordinances and don’t be shy
about educating others when they’re idling! Start with a wave, smile, eye contact, and a gesture of turning the key. Be polite, with a “Would you mind turning off your engine?” Justify your ask with a reason. It could be that you’re trying to educate others about our local ordinances or that you or a family member has bad asthma. Always say thank you and give a thumbs up if they flip the key.

It’s time to break this unnecessary and harmful habit. Can we go idle-free while we wait, talk,
text, or eat? Let’s model by example and respectfully educate the new families in our community on how we do it here.

By Mary Closser