Researchers idle cars to study Utah pollution


2 photos
Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

LOGAN — With the help of several probes, sensors and computers, Dr. Randy Martin and research assistant Clay Woods spent a couple of hours Friday starting and restarting two large pickup trucks.

"The primary goal of this study is to look at the differences in and look at those emissions for a typical Wasatch Front or Cache Valley fleet," Martin said.

While Martin has spent the last two months testing about 50 cars at Utah State University, professors at Weber State University have been testing about 20 more to help with the study, and they are comparing results.

"The idea is to figure out what exactly we are putting into the air here in the Cache Valley, and along the Wasatch front, particularly during the wintertime," Martin said.

While results are still very preliminary, Martin said there is no mechanical benefit in letting vehicles made in 1996 or later idle during the colder months.

"Your car doesn't need to warm up," Martin said. "The warmth that we want is really for our comfort, so wear a pair of gloves, drive down the road and you're good to go."

Martin also pointed out that many of the cars studied produced more pollutants during a cold start, rather than when the engine is warm.

"We also wanted to know, how does that compare to all the warm starts?" Martin said. "After the car's run for a little bit, but you shut it off and restart it a short while later."

Martin said data from the study will ultimately be given to Utah's Division Of Air Quality and used to help predict pollution levels during the winter. He's also hopeful the findings will help change some drivers' habits.

"Our studies have shown that it is indeed better to shut your car off," Martin said. "Rather than to let it idle when you run in to get that Big Gulp or coffee in the morning."

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Michael Anderson

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast