• Oak Park Unified School District Adopts New "No Idling" Policy for Vehicles on School Campuses                    

     In conjunction with its participation in International Walk to School Day 2012, on Wednesday, October 3rd, and to protect the health of our students, parents, teachers and the environment, the Oak Park Unified School District is launching a No Idling policy. 

     

    When parents drive onto any campus, cars in line for morning drop-off or afternoon pick-up are now being greeted with new No Idling signage.   With this new policy, we are asking you to turn off your car if you will be waiting longer than 30 seconds.

     

     

    Why should you support the no-idling effort?

     

    By turning off your car, our students, teachers and parents won’t breathe in unhealthy fumes as they enter or exit school

    Vehicle exhaust is harmful to everyone’s health, but it especially affects children who breathe more and at a faster rate than adults. Vehicle exhaust contains toxins and fine particles that are associated with an increased incidence of respiratory ailments and heart disease, as well as a greater risk for cancer. 

    you reduce pollution in the air we breathe When you turn off your car

     

    Vehicle idling creates unnecessary pollution. In fact, idling produces twice as much pollution as stopping and restarting your warmed-up engine.   A single vehicle dropping off and picking up kids at school puts as much as three pounds of pollution into the air per month.  By not idling, you prevent air pollution.

     

    Idling costs you money

     

    A popular misconception is that idling your car uses less gas than turning it off and restarting. The truth is, if you are going to be waiting more than 30 seconds, it is more fuel efficient to turn your engine off.  Additionally, idling also causes more wear on engine parts because fuel doesn't undergo complete combustion, dirtying spark plugs and contaminating engine oil. In short, it is NOT bad for your car to turn it on and off a few times while you’re in the drop off line.

     

    We ask that you become an active participant in improving air quality and reducing health risks by supporting OPUSD’s new No Idling policy.  This simple but critical change in behavior of turning off your car if you will be idling longer than 30 seconds will drastically improve the air our children breathe.

     

    Click here  to learn more about the effects of vehicle idling.

     

    Thank you for your support.

     

    The Oak Park Unified School District