Transportation 19

In Michigan state lawmaker, Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood, D-Taylor, has introduced a bill that would prohibit vehicles in excess of 8,500 pounds from idling for more than 5 minutes per hour. While loading or unloading, idling would be allowed for up to 30 minutes in a 60-minute period.

Exemptions would include situations when vehicles are stuck in traffic or “operating a defroster, heater, or air conditioner, or during installation of equipment, solely to prevent a safety or health emergency and not part of the operator’s rest or sleep period.” Idling would also be permitted to power a medical device, such as a continuous positive airway pressure machine, or CPAP. The exclusion would not apply for vehicles equipped with an auxiliary power unit.

The bill does not include an exemption for extreme temperatures. It does, however, specify that auxiliary power units, gen sets or other idle-reduction technology are allowed.

Violators of the five-minute rule would face fines of up to $500. Owners or operators of locations where a truck is loading or unloading for longer than 30 minutes would face up to $150 fines.

The bill – SB819 – could be considered as early as this week in the Senate Transportation Committee.