According to the website Idle Free BC, vehicle idling speeds up oil contamination and wear on engine parts because of increased residue on cylinder walls. Although some idling is necessary, some of it isn't. An island-wide effort to reduce the avoidable idling would not only help our car and truck engines, it would go easier on human internal parts as well.
Natural Resources Canada says studies have shown that idling can "strongly influence outdoor air quality at the local or community level." Idling adds to the much larger problem of vehicle exhaust, which negatively impacts respiratory health.
Children are especially vulnerable. They breathe more rapidly than adults because their lungs are still developing. Unfortunately,
school buses are not the healthiest place for those lungs. A Yale study found that particulate pollution is five to 15 times higher inside a school bus than it is at sites monitored nearby. This is due to factors like open windows, queuing and idling.
People in an idling vehicle are more exposed to that vehicle's pollution than they are when the vehicle is moving, because air flow vents emissions during driving. Parents waiting at a school bus stop, for example, could reduce those emissions by shutting off their ignitions. That would benefit everyone both inside and outside the vehicles.
Fortunately, the idling situation is being addressed locally. Graeme Boyd, principal of Quadra Elementary School, says its buses' ignitions are turned off when the children load and unload. The school also has "idle-free zone" signage posted in the drop-off area. It sends regular newsletters home with the children that have suggestions for parents, like carpooling or having their kids use the bus whenever possible.
Graeme says that idling is not a major health concern at the school, but when classroom windows are open, exhaust can be smelled. He adds that the school board is taking a look at the issue and the school district has an environmental awareness committee. The district has budgetted for low emission vehicles, which Graeme hopes to see within a year.