The engine of an unattended van runs in the driveway of an Arvada home December 2012. A new state law allows drivers to warm up their vehicles unattended if they are using a remote starter device. Puffing is still illegal for other drivers. (Lindsay Pierce, YourHub)
Re: Puffing law should exempt more than just rem0te-starting vehicles, April 14 letter to the editor.
A recent letter to the editor encouraged extending House Bill 1122 s exemption of Colorado s puffer law not just to vehicles with remote starters, but to any car that could idle and be locked. I would like to express a different opinion. The original puffer law was passed both to deter auto theft and to protect Colorado s air quality by reducing emissions from empty, idling vehicles. In 2014, Denver ranked fifth-worst in air quality in the U.S. for counties with populations over 100,000. According to a 2015 American Lung Association report, most of Colorado s Front Range counties score an F in air quality. Rather than loosening the ban on idling vehicles, I encourage our legislature and all drivers to stop puffing. If you want Colorado to remain famous for our breathtaking scenery rather than for our air that takes your breath away, do something about it. Don t puff!
Susan McLean, Boulder
This letter was published in the April 20 edition.
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