NYC truck idling tickets: the rules and the fines

The idling limits

NYC's Air Code (section 24-163 of the Administrative Code) limits how long a parked, standing or stopped vehicle can idle:

• 3 minutes anywhere in the city.
• 1 minute when the truck is next to a public or private school (pre-K to 12th grade), or next to or inside a named NYC park. Park parking lots don't count, and neither do colleges: there the 3-minute limit applies.

The school or park part has a defense: the respondent can argue that the school or park wasn't easy to identify, by signs or otherwise, when it happened.

When a truck can keep the engine running

Idling is allowed when the engine is running a loading, unloading or processing device. The city's examples:

• a lift gate that is actively being used to load or unload,
• a lift, crane, pump, drill, hoist or mixer run from the engine,
• a refrigeration or temperature system for temperature-sensitive cargo, in a vehicle built to carry it.

Running the heat or air conditioning for the driver's comfort does not count. Legally authorized emergency vehicles are exempt.

Fines

NYC311 lists idling fines from $350 to $2,000. After a respondent is found in violation once, later summonses within three years of the first one can be charged as second or third offenses.

New York State has its own idling law for heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses (5 minutes), enforced by the state, not the city.

Who writes idling tickets

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enforces the idling law. Summonses can start two ways:

• A 311 report. Anyone can report an idling vehicle to 311. A DEP inspector has to see it in person before a summons is issued.
• A citizen complaint. Under DEP's Citizens Air Complaint Program, anyone can file a complaint against a truck with a time- and date-stamped video showing it idling past the limit, with the engine audible or exhaust visible, the license plate, and the company name on the truck. Complaints are filed online within 90 days. If DEP issues the summons and it is upheld and paid, the person who filed may get a reward.

Because the company name on the truck goes into the complaint, the summons is usually issued to the business, not just to a plate.

Answering an idling summons

Idling summonses are heard by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), an independent city court. The respondent named on the summons has to respond before the hearing date. The options OATH lists:

• Admit and pay. Paying on or before the hearing date admits the charge. You can pay online, by mail or in person.
• Fight it by phone. Request a phone hearing at least 3 business days before the hearing date.
• Fight it in writing, online or by mail, if your summons is eligible.
• Reschedule once before the hearing date with OATH's online form.

If you do nothing by the hearing date, you are found in violation by default and can face higher penalties.

How the app shows idling tickets

The city's hearing records list idling tickets under the company name on the summons, not under a plate, so a plate search won't find them. NYC Fleet Tickets Tracker looks them up by name:

1. Tap the Idling tile. Enter your company name as it appears on your tickets. The app suggests matching names from the city's records, and you can add other spellings.
2. See every ticket. Each one shows the date, time, location, the violation (for example idling over 3 minutes, or next to a school), the penalty, late fees, what's paid, the balance due, and the hearing date and status.
3. See which truck. When a ticket lists a plate that matches one of your vehicles, it's tagged with that truck. Tap it to open the truck's page.

With Pro, your office gets an email when a new idling ticket posts and a reminder the day before its hearing, plus a phone alert when the ticket names one of your plates. That way a hearing date doesn't slip by.