Billy Idol, NYC Mayor Want People To Snitch On Fellow Residents To Prevent Illegal Car Idling

Rocker Billy Idol and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio are launching a ‘War on Idling’ which is the new anti-idling campaign encouraging New Yorkers to report idling in their own neighborhoods and get paid a portion of the fine.

Current New York City law prohibits stationary vehicles (including buses) from idling for more than three minutes, or one minute if outside of a public or private school. Emergency vehicles and some delivery vehicles that need power to operate a loading device are exempt.

Back in 2018, the city instituted a bounty program that lets citizens report illegal idling and get paid 25% of the fines that are collected. That can range anywhere from $350 to $2,000 for repeat offenders. The New York Post reports that by August of 2018, one man earned nearly $5,000 from the program.