New legislation on idle engines to be effective March 1

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) announced yesterday the timetable for enforcing the revised rules of the Air Pollution Prevention Act ratified by the Legislative Yuan last year in order to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

EPA officials said scooter and motorcycle riders caught for idling engines longer than three minutes will be fined NT$1,500 beginning on June 1.

The fine for offending motorists driving sedans or other smaller vehicles is set at NT$3,000, compared with more hefty fine of NT$5,000 for drivers of buses and other larger vehicles. The rules and fines apply to scooters, motorbikes, and vehicles at parking lots, on the streets and roads — except for on freeways and expressways — and other temporary parking areas for vehicles on shuttle transport services.

Repeat offenders will be levied with incremental fines to the maximum level of NT$60,000.

The officials urged all motorcyclists and motorists to observe the new rules and cultivate new habit to help alleviate air pollution and conserve energy.

People who like to leave their engines running while waiting to pick up friends and family or taking naps on roadsides or elsewhere should remind themselves to abide by the rules to avoid fines.

Truck drivers in need of longer time to load or unload merchandise should also avoid idling their engines.

There will be exceptions to the rules allowing commuter buses, tourist buses, children's buses, taxi drivers lining up at designated waiting zones, TV channels' satellite news gathering (SNG) vehicles, trucks for refrigerated and frozen products, and container trucks to idle engines for a reasonably extended period of time under certain circumstances.

Officials explained that drivers of public transport buses, tourist buses, and children's buses can ignite engines 15 minutes before the boarding of passengers.

Cabbies of the first three taxis waiting in a queue for their turns to pick up customers at designated zones will also be exempted from the three-minute limit,

Motorists forced to idle their engines due to traffic controls, congestions or accidents will also be excluded from fines, the officials added.

Rules prohibiting long idling of engines were already adopted by several local-level governments, including Hsinchu City, Taichung City, Nantou County, Chiayi City, and Tainan City, for several years.

But violators were generally given only admonitions instead of fines.

EPA officials said tickets with fines will be issued to all violators throughout Taiwan and on offshore islands after the end of the buffer period on May 31.

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