Connecticut idling law: the 3-minute rule

What the law says

no person shall cause or allow: … (C) a mobile source to operate for more than three (3) consecutive minutes when such mobile source is not in motion

RCSA §22a-174-18(b)(3)(C)

Who and what it covers

The regulation covers any “mobile source,” and DEEP treats privately owned passenger cars as covered while routing complaints about them to local authorities. The limit is three consecutive minutes, so it is not a per-hour allowance. The same subsection also bans visible exhaust from a gasoline vehicle for longer than five consecutive seconds and diesel smoke of 20% opacity or darker for more than ten consecutive seconds (§22a-174-18(b)(3)(A), (B)).

Exemptions

• Forced to stay motionless by traffic conditions or mechanical difficulties the operator cannot control (§22a-174-18(b)(3)(C)(i))
• Running defrosting, heating or cooling equipment to ensure the safety or health of the driver or passengers (ii)
• Running auxiliary equipment in or on the vehicle needed for its intended use, such as refrigeration units, pumps or lifts (iii)
• Bringing the engine to the manufacturer’s recommended operating temperature (iv)
• Outdoor temperature below 20°F (v)
• Maintenance that requires the engine to run more than three consecutive minutes (vi)
• Waiting in a queue for inspection by U.S. military personnel before entering a U.S. military installation (vii)
• Not covered at all: antique vehicles over 30 years old, vehicles used exclusively for racing, aircraft, locomotives on rails, vessels on water, and common residential lawn, garden and snow-removal equipment (§22a-174-18(j)(4))

Penalties

DEEP says violations are handled under its Enforcement Response Policy and “may result in administrative enforcement actions, such as Notices of Violation and Consent Orders”; its field staff have no ticketing authority. In August 2008 DEEP issued a Consent Order to a Windsor Locks bus company with repeated documented idling, requiring an anti-idling training program and a financial penalty. School buses are the exception: under CGS §14-277(c), a first offense is an infraction and each later offense carries a fine of $100 to $500.

Who enforces it, and how to report

DEEP Air Management field staff monitor rest areas, schools, truck stops and commercial delivery points and pursue enforcement when they observe violations. Police can write idling tickets only for school buses, under Public Act 02-56. Because the rule is federally enforceable, EPA has also brought its own enforcement actions against companies.

Call DEEP’s Air Quality Complaint Line at (860) 424-3436. DEEP investigates idling complaints about commercial vehicles and buses only; complaints about privately owned passenger vehicles go to your town or city. A school bus idling more than three minutes can be reported to local police, the only officers with ticketing authority for idling.

Schools and school buses

CGS §14-277(b), added by Public Act 02-56, bars a school bus operator from running the engine for more than three consecutive minutes while the bus is not in motion, except: traffic or mechanical difficulties beyond the operator’s control; heating, cooling or auxiliary equipment needed for the bus’s intended use, including safety equipment; outdoor temperature below 20°F; keeping a safe temperature for students with special needs; repairs; and while receiving or discharging passengers on a public highway or road. A first offense is an infraction; each subsequent offense is fined $100 to $500 (§14-277(c)).

History

RCSA §22a-174-18 took effect August 1, 1983 and was amended April 1, 2004, December 22, 2016 and August 3, 2018, per the eRegulations history note. The school-bus idling limit in CGS §14-277(b) was added by Public Act 02-56.

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