South Carolina § 56-35-20 - Idling restrictions; exceptions.

§ 56-35-20. Idling restrictions; exceptions.

(A)(1) An operator of a commercial diesel vehicle may not allow the vehicle to idle for more than ten minutes in any sixty-minute period.

(2) A passenger bus may idle up to fifteen minutes in a sixty-minute period to provide heating or air conditioning when nondriver passengers are on board the vehicle.

(B) A vehicle operator does not violate the idling restrictions contained in subsection (A) if he is idling:

(1) a vehicle while forced to remain motionless because of traffic conditions beyond his control, an official traffic-control device or signal, or at the direction of a law enforcement official;

(2) a vehicle while operating defrosters, heaters, air conditioners, cargo refrigeration equipment, or to install equipment to prevent a safety or health emergency, or as otherwise required by federal or state motor carrier safety regulations or local requirements. This exception does not apply when idling during a rest period;

(3) a police, fire, ambulance, public safety, military, or other emergency or law enforcement vehicle, or any vehicle being used in an emergency capacity while in an emergency or training mode. This exception does not apply when idling for the convenience of the vehicle operator;

(4) the primary propulsion engine of a vehicle for maintenance, servicing, repairing, or diagnostic purposes if idling is required;

(5) a vehicle as part of a federal or state inspection to verify that all equipment is in good working order, if idling is required as part of the inspection;

(6) a primary propulsion engine necessary to power work-related mechanical or electrical operations. This exception shall not apply when idling is done for cabin comfort or to operate nonessential onboard equipment;

(7) an armored vehicle when a person remains inside the vehicle to guard contents or while the vehicle is being loaded or unloaded;

(8) an occupied vehicle with a sleeper berth compartment for purpose of air conditioning or heating:

(a) during a rest or sleep period;

(b) when the outside temperature at the location of the vehicle is less than forty degrees Fahrenheit or greater than eighty degrees Fahrenheit; or

(c) while the vehicle is at a rest area, fleet trucking terminal, commercial truck stop, state designated location designed for the intended purpose of a driver's rest area, or any location that the vehicle is legally permitted to park that is at least five hundred feet from residential housing, schools, daycare facilities, hospitals, or other similar locations; or

(9) an occupied vehicle while waiting in line or queuing to load or unload.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 234, SECTION 6, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on May 22, 2008).