A ban on idling in New Jersey will go into effect on May 1 for pre-2007 model year trucks, despite local truckers' efforts to get the law modified.


The law was enacted in 2007 when the state of New Jersey amended its idling laws. It initially had an effective date of May 1, 2010. However, the New Jersey Motor Truck Association managed to get that date delayed for one year to May 1, 2011.

Despite calls from the NJMTA for a renewed extension, the New Jersey DOT and Department of Environmental Protection seem likely to go ahead with the implementation date.

Gail Toth, NJMTA executive director, said concerns over public safety led to last year's extension. Extreme cold in the winter can pose a danger to the driver's health; extreme heat in the summer can lead to a poorly rested, fatigued driver.

"If it was a public safety hazard a year ago, why isn't it a public safety hazard now?" said Toth. According to HOS rules, a driver must rest for 10 hours whether they're in Alaska, Florida or New Jersey, she pointed out. Truckers may not be able to get that rest if the cab is uncomfortable.

The New Jersey DEP recently rejected the NJMTA's request to extend the exemption that had allowed for sleeper berth idling. The law does, however, permit idling for PTOs, temperature-controlled cargo, and 15 minutes of idling if the truck is stopped in temperatures below 25 degrees for more than three hours.

The regulation is unlikely to affect truckers from New Jersey, but rather drivers that are passing through the region. Toth the said the fine for first offense is several hundred dollars.

The NJMTA has not given up on winning an extension for sleeper berth idling. Toth urged the trucking community to write letters to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and DEP commissioner Bob Martin.