The hip expression “in a New York minute” is taking on new meaning as truckers moving freight in and out of that state find themselves coping with a strict new state idling law.

In New York, state law provides that trucks may not idle diesel engines for more than five consecutive minutes, except when loading or unloading cargo. Under New York City law, it’s three consecutive minutes. The only exemption for idling (while parked) is when the temperature is below 25 degrees. Then truckers can run the engine for heat.

Some truckers say they would be tempted to ignore the law, but the state has vowed zero tolerance for lawbreakers, and the citations can be costly. The fine structure ranges from $250 to $10,000. If a violation is issued, an appearance before a local judge is required, somewhat similar to a traffic court summons.

“I’m freezing, but I have been obeying the law,” says OOIDA member Connie Olsen, talking to Land Line from Long Island on her cell phone.

Olsen is a professional trucker and OOIDA member from Helena, OH. She trucks expedited loads for Conway Now. She drove into New York Sunday with a couple of drops, choosing to come into the city during nighttime hours to avoid congestion complicated by the ice storm. She dropped a load at Hunts Point, where she was promptly unloaded, and then drove on to Levittown to unload at KP Signs. She found a place to park in back of the customer and settled in to wait for her 7:30 unloading time.

At 7:30 a.m., an employee of KP Signs came out and told her they would not be unloading her truck anytime soon.

“They gave me a couple of reasons they could not unload me. The snow, of course, was one. Then they told me they didn’t have a dock and then said I wasn’t scheduled, which I was,” said Olsen, who trucks solo. “I can’t idle this truck more than three minutes at a time and they say zero tolerance for idling violators. I’m freezing. I’ve been here 13 hours and I think hypothermia is setting in. There’s no place for me to go get warm.”

Four hours later, Olsen still wasn’t unloaded, although she said the good news was that the temps in Long Island were up to 32 degrees and she reported that although she was completely miserable, she probably would not freeze to death.

Land Line phoned KP Signs at 11:30 EST, but the woman who answered the phone refused to talk about their policy for getting delivering trucks unloaded, refused to refer the inquiry to anyone else at KP Signs and quickly hung up. Olsen finally did get unloaded at 2 p.m. EST after KP Signs arranged to use a nearby dock.

Olsen, who was pretty hot about her long day despite being frozen to the bone, said if shippers and receivers can’t achieve a better working relationship with truckers, this no idling rule means a wretched winter for truckers hauling goods to New Yorkers.

“I read in my new Land Line where Annette Sandburg, the new head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said shippers and receivers needed educating,” she said. “That’s for sure, especially here in New York, where delays mean a long wait at the dock with no heat.”

--by Sandi Soendker, managing editor

Sandi Soendker can be reached at ooida@aol.com.