Header:
PENNSYLVANIA STATUTES
TITLE 35. HEALTH AND SAFETY
CHAPTER 23B. DIESEL-POWERED MOTOR VEHICLE IDLING ACT
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
§ 4603. Restrictions on idling
(a) RESTRICTIONS.-- No driver or owner of a diesel-powered motor vehicle with a gross weight of 10,001 pounds or more, engaged in commerce, shall cause and no owner or operator of the location where the vehicle loads, unloads or parks shall allow the engine of the vehicle to idle for more than five minutes in any continuous 60-minute period, except as provided under subsections (b) and (c).
(b) EXCLUSIONS.-- The idling restrictions set forth in subsection (a) do not apply to motor homes, commercial implements of husbandry, implements of husbandry, farm equipment or farm vehicles.
(c) EXEMPTIONS.-- A diesel-powered motor vehicle with a gross weight of 10,001 pounds or more may idle beyond the time allowed in subsection (a) for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) When a vehicle idles while forced to remain motionless because of
on-highway traffic, an official traffic control device or signal or at
the direction of a law enforcement official.
(2) When a vehicle must idle to operate defrosters, heaters, air
conditioners or cargo refrigeration equipment, or to install equipment,
in order to prevent a safety or health emergency and not for the
purpose of a rest period, or as otherwise necessary to comply with
manufacturers' operating requirements, specifications and warranties in
accordance with Federal or State motor carrier safety regulations or
local requirements.
(3) When a police, fire, ambulance, public safety, military, utility
service vehicle or other emergency or law enforcement vehicle or any
vehicle being used in an emergency or public safety capacity shall idle
while in an emergency or training mode and not for the convenience of
the driver.
(4) When the primary propulsion engine idles for maintenance,
particulate matter trap regeneration, servicing or repair of the
vehicle or for vehicle diagnostic purposes, if idling is required for
that activity.
(5) When a vehicle idles as part of a Federal or State inspection to
verify that all equipment is in good working order, if idling is
required as part of the inspection.
(6) When idling of a primary propulsion engine is necessary to power
work-related mechanical, safety or electrical operations other than
propulsion. This exemption shall not apply when idling is done for
cabin comfort or to operate nonessential onboard equipment.
(7) When idling of a primary propulsion engine is necessary as part of
a security inspection either entering or exiting a facility.
(8) When an armored vehicle must idle when a person remains inside the
vehicle to guard contents or while the vehicle is being loaded or
unloaded.
(9) When a vehicle must idle due to mechanical difficulties over which
the driver has no control, if the vehicle owner submits the repair
paperwork or product repair verifying that the mechanical problem has
been fixed, by mail, to the department within 30 days of the repair.
(10) When a bus, school bus or school vehicle must idle to provide
heating or air conditioning when nondriver passengers are onboard. For
the purposes of this exemption, the bus, school bus or school vehicle
may idle for no more than a total of 15 minutes in a continuous
60-minute period, except when idling is necessary to maintain a safe
temperature for students with special needs who are transported by a
school bus or school vehicle.
(11) An occupied vehicle with a sleeper-berth compartment that idles
for purposes of air conditioning or heating during a rest or sleep
period and the outside temperature at the location of the vehicle is
less than 40 degrees or greater than 75 degrees Fahrenheit at any time
during the rest or sleep period. This applies to a motor vehicle
subject to this act parked in any place that the vehicle is legally
permitted to park, including, but not limited to, a fleet trucking
terminal, commercial truck stop or designated rest area. This
exemption expires May 1, 2010. This exemption does not apply if the
vehicle is parked at a location equipped with stationary idle reduction
technology that is available for use at the start of the rest period.
(12) When idling is necessary for sampling, weighing, active loading or
active unloading or for an attended motor vehicle waiting for sampling,
weighing, loading or unloading. For the purposes of this exemption,
the vehicle may idle for up to a total of 15 minutes in any continuous
60-minute period.
(13) When idling by a school bus or school vehicle off school property
during queuing for the sequential discharge or pickup of students is
necessary because the physical configuration of a school or the
school's surrounding streets does not allow for stopping.
(14) When idling is necessary for maintaining safe operating conditions
while waiting for a police escort when transporting a load that
requires the issuance of a permit in accordance with 75 Pa.C.S. Ch. 49
Subch. D (relating to special permits for excessive size and weight).
(15) When actively engaged in solid waste collection or the collection
of source-separated recyclable materials. This exemption does not
apply when a vehicle is not actively engaged in solid waste collection
or the collection of source-separated recyclable materials.
(d) EXCEPTION.-- The restriction on idling set forth in subsection (a) does not apply to a diesel-powered motor vehicle that exhibits a label issued by the California Air Resources Board under 13 CCR 1956.8(a)(6)(C) (relating to exhaust emissions standards and test procedures--1985 and subsequent model heavy-duty engines and vehicles) showing that the vehicle's engine meets the optional NOx idling emission standard.
|