North Dakota residents ignore law making car-idling illegal
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) When the winds howl and the bone-numbing cold sets in, scores of North Dakotans willingly become lawbreakers by warming up their vehicles without being in them, ignoring a potential $1,500 state fine and 30 days in jail.
"It's ineffective. The people ignore it. Let's get rid of it," said Republican Rep. Daniel Johnston, who is sponsoring a bill that would make it legal for people to leave their vehicles running unattended, amending a statute that has been on the books since the 1940s that no one can remember being enforced.
"Simply put, the law goes against the will of the people," Johnston told the House Transportation Committee Friday. "The citizenry of North Dakota recognizes this is a bad law."
Others don't even realize it's on the books, he said.
Donnell Preskey, executive director of the North Dakota Sheriffs and Deputies Association, told the panel that her group supports amending the law. No one spoke against it.
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