Do you know what our vehicles are saying?
Email from: familysedan(at)gasvehicles.ca
Date: Friday, April 21, 2023 at 11:05 am
Email to: allcars(at)gasvehicles.ca
Cc: citybylaws(at)ottawa.ca
Subject: Idle chit-chat (ha ha)
To vroom it may concern:
Most of you don’t know me but I can’t keep my hood shut any longer. All winter long, and even now that the weather’s warmer, you’ve been idling like a bunch of overactive smokestacks. What is idling, you ask? Most of the time it’s simply a bad habit: your owner waiting to pick up a child, pre-heating the vehicle, or sitting in the driveway listening to the end of a song. Idling happens when your gas-powered engine is running but you are not moving. This must stop.
Idling wastes gas. It’s bad for the air. It’s bad for the health of humans walking around the cars. It doesn’t matter how fuel-efficient you are, you get zero kilometres per litre while idling. Plus, with the price of gas these days, it’s your owner’s hard-earned money coming out of your tailpipes. Do what I do, and if you are in one spot longer than 60 seconds, just shut off the engine (unless you’re in traffic, of course).
Here’s another myth busted: Unless it is below -15 °C, you don’t need more than 30 seconds to circulate your oil and become fully lubricated and ready to go. I warm up best by driving, assuming my windshield is defrosted (a good scraper helps with that).
And did you know you can get a ticket for unnecessary idling? I’ve copied the City of Ottawa to clarify that point.
I’m just trying to help the reputation of us internal combustion engines.
Sincerely,
Family Sedan
(brought to you by the City of Ottawa)