Time to idle the idling law (Opinion)

Cold cars could mean cold hard cash in New Jersey, the state where you could start your ride with a $250 fine for idling your car for more than three minutes in 25+ degree weather. That's just the first time, get caught again and it goes up to $500 and a third time, $1000. It's a money grab in the name of the environment.

New Jersey Sierra Club Director tells NJ.com "It’s violated all the time, even in the summer. As you’re idling, you’re polluting the neighborhood for no reason."

How about putting children in a freezing cold car? How about defrosting your windshield so that we don't get fined for that? How about the waste of time and money since so many of these cases get dismissed anyway?

NJ.com also reported, citing state records, that only 103 of the 262 summonses processed last year resulted in guilty findings. Do we really need to waste the police or the court's time with this?

In the grand scheme, in my opinion, keeping my kids warm and my car safe and warm is more important than polluting the neighborhood for a few minutes. I bet if you polled said neighborhood, they'd feel the same way. Based on that I say, let's idle the idling law for a lot longer than 3 minutes in all weather.

More from New Jersey 101.5: