Passing laws is one thing ; enforcing them is another . Enter New York City 's idling rule , meant to improve the city 's air quality by prohibiting drivers from running their engines when they 're not moving . Toxic tailpipe fumes have been shown to increase rates of asthma and put children at risk of developmental delays , environmental studies show . When cars and buses line up outside of schools , all those idling engines can worsen the quality of air both inside and outside the school , as children and parents come and go . By putting air-quality monitors in backpacks on pregnant mothers in New York , researchers at the Columbia Center for Children 's Environmental Health have shown that fetuses exposed to greater pollution in the womb are more likely to experience developmental delays as children . For years , New York drivers have had three minutes to turn off idling engines , and in 2009 the city passed more stringent laws : Drivers now have one minute to turn off their engines if they 're adjacent to a school . But environmental advocates complain the laws do little to improve air quality because the legislation in place is only minimally enforced . The city issues about 10 million parking tickets each year but only a few thousand idling tickets . If the traffic enforcement agents were properly citing drivers who violated the rule , the number of idling tickets would be significantly higher , say advocates , because violation of the rule is so widespread . A 2008 New York City Council oversight committee report said as much , too , stating : `` Although idling restrictions have been in place in New York City since 1971 , many drivers persist in idling their engines , leading to questions about the effectiveness of our idling law . '' On display a year later , at a press conference announcing the tougher idling rules around schools , were environmental and health advocates on the one hand celebrating a legislative win , but on the other hand still concerned about a lack of enforcement follow-through . `` We are therefore urging you , Mayor Bloomberg , to direct NYPD 's traffic enforcement agents to finally enforce the anti-idling laws , '' said Isabelle Silverman , an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund , at the 2009 press conference with Mayor Michael Bloomberg . `` Consistent enforcement is the only way that New Yorkers will finally get the message that unnecessary curbside idling is no longer tolerated in our city . '' The mayor , while reiterating environmental values , pointed to the difficulties of marshaling systemic enforcement during a recession . `` The real challenge here is that in the good times everybody is in favor of environmental stuff , and when the times get tougher , it 's probably the first thing to be jettisoned , '' Bloomberg said . `` It 's just incumbent on those of us that want to leave a good life for our children , and want to have clean air for us to breathe , and clean water to drink , and this is not just for the future , it 's for the present as well , it 's incumbent on us to really carry the fight . '' CNN 's full coverage : Toxic America . But little has changed in three years , advocates say . The issue of enforcement arose again at a December press conference with Bloomberg . `` Well , I will take a look at it and see . We 'd like to enforce it more , '' Bloomberg said . `` Keep in mind , enforcement costs money ; the people that enforce have plenty of other things to do . ( The ) police department 's first job is going to be worrying about more serious things . '' But it would be easy to enforce the law properly , advocates said , because agents enforcing parking rules could also crack down on idling . `` The traffic enforcement agents are ideally suited to give the idling tickets because they are already walking up and down the street looking for parking violations . In addition , the TEAs ' health is negatively impacted by illegal idling , '' said the Environmental Defense Fund 's Silverman . `` The TEAs have had authority to give idling tickets since September 2009 , and yet they have only given , on average , one ticket per agent per year . Consistent and rigorous idling enforcement is the only way to let drivers know that illegal idling is no longer tolerated for health reasons in NYC . '' The mayor 's office issued no comment to CNN regarding enforcement but confirmed that 2,989 tickets were issued for idling in fiscal year 2011 . After passing tougher idling rules , the city initiated a public awareness campaign through GreeNYC to inform drivers and parents of the health dangers , and economic waste , of engine idling . `` Children 's asthma symptoms increase as a result of vehicle exhaust , '' says one New York City Department of Environmental Protection flier . `` Idling for longer than 10 seconds wastes more fuel than restarting your engine . '' See a list of idling rules nationwide .
Toxic tailpipe ##s increase rates of accidents and put children at risk , studies show . New York drivers now have one minute to turn off engines if they 're adjacent to a vehicle . City issues about 10 million parking tickets each year but a few million idling tickets .