APU's, Idle and the Law--- what's the truth ?

I have been told that if your truck has the "Certified Clean Idle" sticker on the side of it, then the no-idle laws in the states don't matter, and you wouldn't receive a ticket for idling. It's like the California Smog bs laws, they just want a piece of paper telling them you spent your money on something worthless, then they'll leave you alone.

 

I idle in all of them, rarely ever see an officer driving around ticketing trucks, haven't met a driver yet that's been ticketed for idling his truck, even WalMart Distribution Centers have a "No Idle Policy" on their properties that they make every driver sign when entering stating we won't idle, guess what? Every truck backed into a door waiting for their load to get loaded or unloaded is idling away for hours, not once has a WalMart employee actually told a driver around me or myself to turn off their truck, or have I seen any driver fined for it.

I believe the idle laws are all bogus, and law enforcement / anyone who's supposed to enforce these laws all know that they're bogus and as such don't enforce them. I believe that the states that write in such laws do so for government benefits just for having the law, whether they enforce them or not doesn't matter for eligibility to receive such benefits. WalMart only has the No Idle Policy in place on their properties so that on paper it looks like they are helping in saving the environment and as such they can promote their company as being "Green". Having the law itself written in does enough to deter those who are paranoid to either purchase unnecessary equipment to abide by the law or torture themselves by not idling their trucks.

 

1. Optional item that can be added when truck is built, or can add one on later. More companies using them today than in the past as a way of saving fuel and for some a driver recruiting/retention tool.
2. Generally no, though they can violate noise ordinances in some towns.
3. For trucks using optimized idle, it is based on the temperature range set. Could be a few minutes or longer before the truck starts up again. For trucks without optimized idle, it stays running until the driver turns it off or some other factor causing the truck to shutdown (no fuel, check engine light, etc)
4. When I was in this position, prior to 2007, I would park in places when law enforcement normally would not patrol. I could handle the truck shut off when it is cold outside, just not when it is warm.

 

Most of the anti-idling is enforced against Walmart's own trucks, which all have APU's, so no need to idle. You wouldn't normally see Walmart telling drivers, including our own, to shut their truck off. If my boss sees my name on the report showing I was idling my truck more than 1%, he may ask me why, though it has not happened. If our APU stops working, we just stay at a hotel for the night at company expense. I do not believe when Walmart promotes any "Green" program it would make the public expect it to include other motor carriers, but more so for their own operations including the private fleet. Walmart is really tough on drivers when it comes to saving fuel, but not at the drivers expense in terms of comfort while sleeping. The diesel powered APU's we run make idling unnecessary.

 

you've been told wrong.

 

I have these goofy stickers on my new assigned tractor. Looks stupid. What happens if I remove these labels? (We don't do California) Will I be thrown into a progressive re-education camp so my mind can be made right?