Vermont idling law: the 5-minute per hour rule

What the law says

A person shall not cause or permit operation of the primary propulsion engine of a motor vehicle for more than five minutes in any 60-minute period while the vehicle is stationary.

23 V.S.A. §1110(a)(1)

Who and what it covers

The rule reaches any “person” who causes or permits a stationary motor vehicle’s primary propulsion engine to run, so passenger cars, pickups, buses and trucks are all covered on public roads and public lots. The five minutes are a total across any 60-minute period, not a consecutive count. The only weight-based carve-out is for vehicles of 10,000 lbs GVWR or less idling on a private driveway or private parking area (§1110(a)(2)(K)).

Exemptions

• Military vehicles, ambulances, and police, fire, rescue or other public-safety vehicles idling as necessary for official operations (§1110(a)(2)(A))
• Armored vehicles while a guard stays inside or while loading or unloading (B)
• Highway traffic, a traffic control device or signal, or a law enforcement officer’s direction (C)
• Occupant health or safety, and passenger buses idling to keep non-driver passengers comfortable while they are on board (D)
• Safety equipment such as windshield defrosters, when needed to address specific safety concerns (E)
• Power for work other than propulsion, such as mixing or processing cargo or straight-truck refrigeration (F)
• Pre-2018 model year vehicles with an occupied sleeper berth, for heat or air conditioning during a rest or sleep period (G)
• Maintenance, service, repair, diagnostics, or a State or federal inspection (H); school buses on school grounds following the State Board of Education rule (I); dealer lots, as necessary to maintain the premises (J)
• Vehicles of 10,000 lbs GVWR or less on a private driveway or private parking area (K)
• Auxiliary power units, generator sets and other idle-reduction technology are not covered at all (§1110(b))

Penalties

Section 1110(d) caps the penalty at $10.00 for a first violation (exempt from the surcharges in 13 V.S.A. §7282(a)), $50.00 for a second and $100.00 for a third or subsequent violation. Because the penalty is under $1,000 with no jail term, a violation is a “traffic violation” under 23 V.S.A. §2302(a), which “is not a crime and shall be treated as a civil action” (§2302(b)).

Who enforces it, and how to report

Section 1110 sits in Title 23 (motor vehicles), so a violation goes through the civil traffic-violation system rather than an environmental permit process. Vermont DEC’s Air Quality and Climate Division runs the Be Idle Free education program but its page describes no idling complaint process. Section 1110(c) lets the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, with the Secretary of Natural Resources, adopt rules adding times when idling is reasonably required.

The statute names no complaint agency, so a persistent violator on a public street is a matter for the local police department’s non-emergency line. In Burlington, the city’s own 3-minute rule also applies. For a school bus idling at a school, State Board of Education Rule 6005 makes the driver’s employer responsible for reviewing “all complaints of non-compliance,” so raise it with the school district or its bus contractor. Program questions go to DEC’s Air Quality and Climate Division at (802) 828-1288.

Schools and school buses

Under 23 V.S.A. §1282(f) and State Board of Education Rule 6001 (effective May 1, 2008), a school bus driver must turn the engine off immediately on arrival at a loading or unloading area on school grounds and may not restart it until the bus is ready to depart; otherwise the bus may not idle more than five minutes in a 60-minute period on school grounds. The rule’s exceptions: special equipment for disabled persons, safety equipment other than lights (such as defrosters) when needed, and servicing that requires the engine.

Local rules in Vermont

• Burlington: No person may leave a motor vehicle idling for more than three minutes in any area of the city. Exceptions: refrigeration units, idling needed to repair the vehicle, vehicles that must idle to install, maintain or repair equipment or infrastructure, and driver or passenger health or safety (including defrosters). Penalty: $12.00 (§20-66(b)(8)). (Burlington Code of Ordinances §20-55(e); §20-66(b)(8))

History

Section 1110 was added by 2013 Acts No. 57, §28, effective May 1, 2014, and has no later amendment in its history note. The school-bus rule on school grounds took effect May 1, 2008.

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