Massachusetts ”No Idle” Law Could Lead to Big Fines

You know it can be when you're on the move. If you have to run into the house, work, or a store to grab something, you may be tempted to leave your vehicle running. Likewise, during cold winter weather, you're likely to start your car and let it run and warm up for a few minutes so you're not freezing when you drive to your destination. While nothing bad may happen, there's still a chance it could because in Massachusetts, there is what is called a "no idle Law."

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The "no idle law" isn't to say you can't leave your car idling at all; you can, but if you let it idle for too long, you could be fined. According to mass.gov, the law states the following:

A car cannot be idling more than 5 minutes unless it is being serviced or it is being used to deliver or accept goods where engine assisted power is necessary.  If someone is caught, they can be levied with a $100 fine for the first offense and up to $500 for subsequent offenses.

 

Mass.gov also notes that a regulation from the Department of Environmental Protection mirrors the language in the statute. In addition, extended idling on school grounds warrants the same penalties.

Whether we like it or not, the law makes sense as we don't need to add more pollution to the environment if we can help it, but I often wonder how strictly this law is enforced. Anyway, whether you're in Boston, Worcester, Springfield, or anywhere in Massachusetts,  if you turn your engine off after the five-minute mark, you won't have to worry about a fine, and you can't complain about that.