Passenger Vehicle Idling in Vermont, Phase II
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Summary
This study, conducted by the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, investigates discretionary passenger vehicle idling to inform strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The transportation sector is Vermont’s largest contributor to GHG emissions, and while previous research focused on large diesel vehicles or in-travel idling caused by congestion, there was limited data on discretionary idling—defined as idling at trip starts, ends, or intermediate stops that is under the driver’s control. The study aims to characterize the duration, frequency, and demographic patterns of this behavior to identify targets for education and enforcement, particularly following the enactment of Vermont’s anti-idling law in 2013. The researchers collected in-vehicle data from 86 volunteers in Addison County, Vermont, between January and July 2013. Each participant was monitored for 10 days using synchronous Global Positioning System (GPS) and On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) loggers to record vehicle speed and engine status. The final aligned dataset comprised 785.8 hours of in-state vehicle operating time. The study analyzed idling duration as a function of area type, weather, individual demographics, household characteristics, and vehicle attributes. Idling events were classified as discretionary or non-discretionary based on whether they occurred at trip endpoints or during travel. The analysis identified 15,484 zero-speed events, with 46% classified as discretionary idling. These events accounted for nearly 79 hours of total time, with over 55% of discretionary idling time occurring in events lasting more than one minute. Discretionary idling contributed approximately 1% of total GHG emissions from passenger vehicles in the sample. Spatial analysis revealed no relationship between idling duration and residential or retail density, though more total idling events occurred in built-up metropolitan areas compared to rural spaces. Temporally, idling was more frequent on weekdays and during daytime hours. Demographically, women and drivers of older vehicles were identified as the most likely to engage in longer idling events. Contrary to Phase I findings, this phase found no association between daily high or low temperatures and discretionary idling, suggesting that individual differences in knowledge or travel patterns outweigh seasonal effects. The findings indicate that discretionary idling is a significant, behavior-driven component of vehicle emissions that can be addressed through driver education and enforcement rather than infrastructure changes. The identification of specific demographic groups, such as women and owners of older vehicles, provides guidance for targeting future anti-idling programs. However, because discretionary idling was prevalent across a significant portion of the sample, the authors conclude that broad, general education campaigns are critical for effective reduction. This research supports the implementation of Vermont’s anti-idling legislation by quantifying the potential emission reductions and highlighting the importance of behavioral change in achieving state GHG targets.
Key finding
Approximately 1% of greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles in the sample were associated with discretionary idling, which accounted for 46% of all zero-speed events.
Methodology
naturalistic
Sample size: 86
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | rosap | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 24 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence