CityStories / Photo Galleries / Cracking Down on Idling in New York City

By Rob Goodier

Unlike shorter cities with landscaping and space between buildings, New York City is a smog trap. Here, the brick and steel canyons can confine the exhaust from hundreds of thousands of tail pipes. And idling diesel engines are one of the contributors. In response to mounting concern, the city council tightened its idling restrictions around schools last year. Now, vehicles in school zones can idle for only one minute, down from three minutes. Beyond school zones, New York State prohibits heavy-duty vehicles from idling for more than five minutes. We took a look at some of the evidence supporting this kind of measure and we even caught some rule-breakers.