Denver DRMC §50 (Air Pollution Control) and Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Regulation 14 limit motor-vehicle idling to about five minutes per hour for diesel and gasoline vehicles, with narrow exceptions for traffic, safety, and extreme weather conditions.
Under Denver Revised Municipal Code §50 and Colorado Regulation 14 (5 CCR 1001-12), drivers may not allow most on-road and heavy-duty diesel vehicles to idle for more than five minutes in any sixty-minute period within Denver city limits. Exemptions exist for traffic delays, official emergency vehicles, refrigerated cargo, sleeper-berth rest periods on extremely cold or hot days, and engine maintenance. The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) and Colorado Air Pollution Control Division share enforcement authority. The rule complements Denver's Climate Action Plan goal to cut transportation greenhouse-gas emissions and reduce ground-level ozone in the metro nonattainment area.
Violations carry administrative penalties up to several hundred dollars per occurrence under DRMC §50, plus potential state civil penalties. DDPHE inspectors and Denver police may issue citations.
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See how Denver's vehicle idling restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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