SALT LAKE COUNTY — Salt Lake County leaders admit there’s no silver bullet to clean Utah’s air, but announced significant steps toward that goal Wednesday.
The new initiatives include going after people who idle their vehicles.
If you're caught, you won’t immediately get a ticket. Instead officers will give you a handout that details the damage idling can do to your health.
It will also explain the fines you could face if you're caught idling again.
The handouts also contain information about help available to vehicle owners who can’t afford to fix their broken pollution control systems.
The Unified Police Department showed off their brand new hybrid interceptors.
By adding these vehicles to its fleet, UPD believes it can reduce carbon emissions.
"This idles only about 20 percent of the time in a two hour period," UPD Fleet Manger Keith Larsen said. "So in 2 hours, 80 percent of the time this vehicle is going to be off with lights running and everything going inside. That is probably going to save us about 466 1/2 gallons per year."
Another part of the campaign has to do with identifying illegally-modified or smoking vehicles on the road.
Salt Lake County leaders point to studies that show smoking vehicles emit much more pollution than compliant vehicles.
If you spot a polluting vehicle on the road, you can report it here.
