With the cold weather of the past few weeks, the Weyburn Police Service continues to receive complaints of vehicles left indiscriminately idling.

Deputy chief Rod Stafford said Weyburn got its Idling Bylaw because of vehicles idling in winter.

“We do recognize that in extremely cold temperatures, and especially those who drive diesel vehicles, there is an issue with starting them in the cold and keeping them running,” he explained. “So Council took that under advisement, crafted the bylaw that we have now.”

Weyburn's idling bylaw dictates no more than 20 minutes of idling is allowed in one location in a three-hour period.

Stafford said the bylaw is a fair compromise, considering long-term idling causes both air pollution and noise pollution.

“If you happen to be in an adjoining hotel room, or on the street and it's your neighbour who's leaving for work early and is doing this, it's both kinds of pollution, and depending on where it's parked in relation to a residence or the windows or whatever, gas vehicles, the fumes can certainly seep into the house and cause issues,” he said. “Diesel is a little more notable.”

He said it’s also noise pollution if it's running all night outside of someone’s bedroom window.

“All those things considered, that's why the bylaw was put into place,” said Stafford. “As much of an inconvenience that may be, if the goal is to be able to start your vehicle or keep it running, 20 minutes every 3 hours should accomplish that.”