|
|
|
|
|
|
Trucks and buses travel approximately 230 billion miles every year in the United States, working hard to move goods and people. Most trucks and buses in use today are diesel-powered. More advanced engines, cleaner fuels, and stricter federal standards are gradually making diesel vehicles cleaner and cleaner. Even the newest diesel-engines, however, emit significant levels of pollution, and older diesel vehicles tend to last a long time before they are replaced. Thus, maximizing the efficiency with which trucks and buses—and all vehicles for that matter—are operated can make a big difference in how much fuel they use and how much pollution they create. Idle reduction is an important strategy for improving overall fuel efficiency and avoiding unnecessary human exposure to pollutants. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), excessive and unnecessary truck and bus idling consumes an estimated 1.2 billion gallons of diesel fuel every year—accounting for approximately three percent of all diesel fuel consumed for road transportation. Idling also generates more pollutants per gallon as diesel engines—tuned for optimum operation at traveling speeds—do not combust fuel as efficiently when idling. In addition, idling tends to occur at places where vehicles and people are gathered, concentrating pollutants and increasing human exposure. In particular, diesel exhaust contains particulate matter too small to be seen with the naked eye which lodges in lung tissue when inhaled. Particulate pollution is believed to cause or exacerbate numerous health problems including cancer, asthma, reduced lung function, and premature death.
|
|||
Printer-friendly version