Rhode Island idling law: the 5-minute per hour rule

What the law says

No person, entity, owner or operator shall cause, allow or permit the unnecessary idling of the engine of a diesel motor vehicle while said vehicle is stopped for a period of time in excess of five (5) consecutive minutes in any sixty (60) minute period...

250-RICR-120-05-45 §45.6

Who and what it covers

The rule covers every on-road vehicle powered by a diesel engine, with no weight threshold: RIDEM’s fact sheet lists diesel pickups, SUVs, minivans and sedans alongside school buses and semi-trucks. The limit is 5 consecutive minutes within any 60-minute window. A separate section (§45.7) bans all unnecessary idling of non-road diesel engines, such as construction and industrial equipment, with no 5-minute allowance at all.

Exemptions

• Motionless because of traffic or at the direction of a law enforcement official (§45.8(A)(1))
• Heat for driver or passenger safety: up to 15 minutes per hour between 0°F and 32°F, and as needed below 0°F (§45.8(A)(2))
• Passenger buses: up to 15 minutes per hour for passenger comfort when non-driver passengers are aboard and it is below 50°F (§45.8(A)(2))
• Engine powering work-related mechanical or electrical operations, such as mixing cargo or straight-truck refrigeration, but not cabin comfort (§45.8(A)(3))
• Maintenance, servicing, repair, diagnostics, or a state or federal inspection that requires idling (§45.8(A)(4), (6))
• Police, fire, rescue, ambulance, military and other emergency vehicles in emergency or training mode, not for operator convenience (§45.8(A)(7))
• Armored vehicles while a guard stays inside or during loading and unloading (§45.8(A)(7))
• Airfield maintenance vehicles at state airports, and engines that must run continuously to do their job, such as an on-site generator (§45.8(A)(8), (9))
• Vehicles making deliveries of fuel or energy products (R.I. Gen. Laws §23-23-29.2)
• Running an auxiliary power unit or generator set instead of the main engine is not idling (§45.8(A)(10))

Penalties

A violation is punishable by a fine of not more than $100 for the first offense and not more than $500 for each succeeding offense (R.I. Gen. Laws §31-16.1-4; 250-RICR-120-05-45 §45.9). The regulation lets penalties fall on the person, entity, owner or operator of the vehicle, and also on anyone who allows or permits unnecessary idling on property under their control.

Who enforces it, and how to report

By statute, enforcement belongs to state and local law enforcement, including state and local police and parking enforcement personnel, RIDEM and the Division of Motor Vehicles (R.I. Gen. Laws §23-23-29.5).

RIDEM’s anti-idling page names Michala Zien, (401) 537-4379, as the contact for the program; the Office of Air Resources is at 235 Promenade Street, Providence, 401-222-2808. Because local police and parking enforcement officers are also authorized enforcers, an idling diesel on a street can be reported to the local police department.

History

Enacted by P.L. 2006, ch. 557, which ordered RIDEM to adopt rules by July 1, 2007. The regulation was adopted effective July 19, 2007 and refiled without changes effective January 4, 2022. Its sleeper-berth exemption expired on July 1, 2010.

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