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NITE System Offers Welcome Alternative to Steep Fines
In the Hunts Point Peninsula, located in the South Bronx area of New York City, additional trucking operations and congestion from commercial truck traffic are growing concerns. The city has responded to repeated violations and citizen complaints by stepping up enforcement efforts aimed at halting unlawful truck idling.
"Truck idling is a pocketbook issue in more ways than just diesel fuel costs," pointed out Joe Nett, director of marketing for the Aftermarket Group at Bergstrom Inc. "In a state that forbids non-operational idling beyond five minutes and a city that's even less tolerant, the crackdown on excessive idling is intended as a strong message, correct the problem or pay the price. The heightened interest in enforcing anti-idling laws makes Bergstrom's NITE no-idle HVAC system all the more essential truck equipment."
Hunts Point, site of New York's two largest wholesale markets and future home of the Fulton Fish Market, is a magnet for big rigs and the sooty exhaust they bring. Huge amounts of produce, meat, fish and other commodities move in and out of Hunts Point each day. The relocation of the Fulton Fish Market from Lower Manhattan to the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, slated for completion in 2005, promises to significantly increase traffic congestion and exhaust emissions from trucks.
At any given time, there may be 500 or more diesel-powered trucks in the Hunts Point Produce Market. During a brief investigation in the fall of 2002, the New York Attorney General's Office documented 71 instances of illegal idling. Most of the trucks illegally idling were out-of-state long-haul tractor trailers, not owned or operated by the market.
Diesel vehicles have long been considered a pariah because of their noise and air pollution. The amount of pollution emitted as a result of extended idling is staggering. Argonne National Laboratory estimates that the average heavy-duty truck idling six hours a day, 43 weeks a year produces about 17 tons of carbon dioxide, 10 pounds of particulates and 615 pounds of nitrous oxides on an annual basis.
For their part, truck drivers note that high-density urban locations and scheduling problems at meat, grocery and produce warehouses can cause delays in delivering and unloading cargo of up to 12 hours.
In Hunts Point, the residential area borders the industrial market. The neighborhood experiences a higher incidence of such respiratory illnesses as childhood asthma and a higher degree of noise pollution.
The New York City Department of Transportation has been actively working with the Hunts Point community to address these problems. The state Attorney General's Environmental Protection Bureau also has gotten involved. That agency struck a deal with the Hunts Point Produce Market to launch a self-policing program, which went into effect last November.
The state idling law places the direct legal obligation on the owner or operator of real estate that exercises control over vehicles. The Attorney General's Office gave the market a choice: fix the problem yourself or have the state fix it at your expense.
Now when a driver enters the market, there is an area to park and that area has new signage. The signs tell you to shut your engine off. The non-operational idling limit is three minutes. The market hired four enforcement officers to issue citations to trucks ignoring the anti-idling rules. Citations run from $250 to $875, depending upon the offense.
But because old habits and old attitudes die hard, this is not the end of the enforcement story. The New York City Council wants to increase the number of traffic officers authorized to issue citations for excessive idling. And other voluntary as well as punitive solutions are being sought.
"A driver has to get sleep to be safe, and if it means idling to stay warm or cool to do it, that's what he'll do," observed Nett. "We believe the NITE system is a welcome alternative to operating a truck engine in idle mode as a way to generate heat and air conditioning."
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