There are a lot of people out there trying to save the planet who seem to have a big problem with idling commercial vehicles — but we wonder if those people actually understand the very important reasons why a driver might need to idle.
A growing number of cities and states have enforced restrictive idling regulations (and hefty fines to go with them) without seeming to understand the underlying cruelty behind those regulations. Many states don’t allow truckers to idle for more than five minutes at a time, leaving those without APUs forced to sleep in an environment so dangerously hot that it’s hard — if not impossible — for those drivers to get the rest that they need to do their jobs safely.
That’s why the CDLLife team decided to create a video to illustrate just how dangerous anti-idling laws can be. We locked two of our team members in a hot truck in 95 degree weather — windows rolled up, no air conditioning allowed. Within just a few minutes, the temperature was brutal. In less than an hour, it got so hot that it was hazardous to our health.
Take a look the the video below to see what a dramatic toll just an hour in a hot truck took on our team.
Anti-idling laws have been a hot button issue in the trucking industry for years. Here’s what you can do to be proactive and pro-trucking in a world that is increasingly anti-idle.
- Educate yourself. Knowledge is power, so know the anti-idling laws in the location where you’re spending the night. You can click here to view an updated list of idling regulations from the ATRI.
- Contact lawmakers. Your lawmakers represent you — so make your voice heard. You can click here to follow this link to an OOIDA sponsored webpage that makes it easy for you to write to your representatives to ask for change.