California idling law: the 5-minute rule

What the law says

No vehicle subject to this section shall idle for more than 5 consecutive minutes at any location.

13 CCR §2485(c)(1)(B)1

Who and what it covers

The rule reaches any person, business or government agency that owns or operates a diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicle over 10,000 lbs GVWR that is or must be licensed for highway use, whether registered in California or elsewhere (§2485(b)). Pickup trucks and zero-emission vehicles are carved out of the definition of commercial motor vehicle (§2485(h)(6)), and CARB’s complaint form states that passenger cars and gasoline or natural-gas commercial vehicles are outside it. A diesel auxiliary power system is separately limited to 5 minutes when it runs within 100 feet of a “restricted area,” defined as property zoned for homes, schools, hotels, motels, hospitals, senior care or child care (§2485(c)(1)(B)2, (h)(21)).

Exemptions

• Clean Idle label: a truck whose engine meets CARB’s optional NOx idling standard and carries the label may idle past 5 minutes, but never within 100 feet of a restricted area (§2485(d)(1))
• Buses: up to 10 minutes before passenger boarding, and any time passengers are on board (§2485(d)(2)(A))
• Stopped by traffic, a traffic signal or control device, or at a peace officer’s direction (§2485(d)(2)(C))
• Queuing, but only while the queue stays more than 100 feet from any restricted area; waiting motionless for a site to open does not count as queuing (§2485(d)(2)(D), (h)(20))
• Immediate adverse weather affecting safe operation, or mechanical trouble the driver cannot control (§2485(d)(2)(E))
• Mandatory safety inspections, and testing, servicing, repair or diagnostics, including filter regeneration while the dashboard indicator is lit (§2485(d)(2)(F), (G))
• Power take-off work: cargo refrigeration, lifts, cranes, pumps, drills, hoists, ready-mix mixers, and authorized solid waste or recycling collection (§2485(d)(2)(H))
• Defrosters, heaters or air conditioning used solely to prevent a safety or health emergency (§2485(d)(2)(I))
• Authorized emergency vehicles on duty, military tactical vehicles in training, testing or deployment, armored cars, workover rigs, and ADA wheelchair lifts (§2485(d)(2)(J) to (N))

Penalties

Since January 1, 2015, 13 CCR §2485(g) has sent penalties to a list of Health and Safety Code sections (39674, 39675, 42400 and following, 43704) instead of naming a dollar figure. CARB’s own driver fact sheet puts it plainly: any law enforcement department, air districts and CARB included, “can fine a 10,000 pound or greater truck owner and driver up to $1000 per day for illegal idling.” The old “minimum civil penalty of 300 dollars” in §2485(g) applies only to violations that occurred before 2015. School-bus violations under §2480 carry the civil and criminal penalties of Health and Safety Code §39642, charged separately to the driver and to the motor carrier.

Who enforces it, and how to report

Section 2485(f) lets three groups enforce: CARB, any California peace officer and their agency, and the local air pollution control or air quality management districts. A driver must hand over a driver’s license, registration and the motor carrier’s name, address and contact person on request, and a carrier must give its drivers that information before dispatch (§2485(c)(1)(C), (D)).

CARB takes idling complaints through two online forms: the Idling Commercial Vehicles Complaint form for trucks and buses idling over 5 minutes, and a separate School Bus Idling form for buses and delivery vehicles at or near schools. CARB says to have the vehicle type, license plate, date, time and location, and make and model ready, and that it will contact the vehicle owner. CARB’s community flyer also lists the phone line 1-800-END-SMOG (1-800-363-7664) and asks for front and rear plate numbers and photos or video if possible. Before you report a truck idling in an unrestricted area, check for a Clean Idle sticker, which lets it idle legally. Idling locomotives go to the railroad: BNSF at 1-800-832-5452, Union Pacific at 1-888-877-7267.

Schools and school buses

Under 13 CCR §2480(c), drivers of school buses, school pupil activity buses, youth buses and general public paratransit vehicles must turn the engine off on stopping at or within 100 feet of a school, may restart it no more than 30 seconds before departing, and may not idle more than 5 consecutive minutes (or 5 minutes in total per hour) anywhere beyond 100 feet. Transit buses and other commercial vehicles over 10,000 lbs must also shut off on stopping at a school. Carriers must train drivers on hire and yearly and keep three years of complaint records. Exemptions include up to three to five minutes of turbocharger cool-down and running heat or air conditioning for children with exceptional needs (§2480(d)).

Local rules in California

• San Francisco: Commercial vehicles, private buses and for-hire vehicles may not idle more than five minutes while parked on any public right of way, fuel type not specified; a vehicle stopped only to load or unload passengers may idle no longer than reasonably necessary. Listed as an infraction under Transportation Code Sec. 7.2. (S.F. Transportation Code Sec. 7.2.86)
• Sacramento (city): Reaches every vehicle over 14,000 lbs GVWR whatever its fuel, plus transport refrigeration units and off-road equipment of 50 hp or more: shut off on arrival at a destination, and no more than five consecutive minutes, or five minutes in total in any hour, of idling at any location. Driver rest-period idling is allowed only at a designated rest area or truck stop and never within 100 feet of a home or school. A violation is an infraction and may also draw administrative penalties under city Code Chapter 1.28. (Sacramento City Code §§8.116.030, 8.116.040, 8.116.080, 8.116.100)

History

Section 2485 was filed January 27, 2005 and took effect February 1, 2005; the current “5 consecutive minutes” wording and the shift to Health and Safety Code penalties apply from January 1, 2015, with later amendments in 2016 and an April 1, 2022 addition. Section 2480 took effect July 16, 2003 (CCR history notes).

Reporting in California is unpaid. The only program that pays complainants is New York City's.