‘Idling at Helmet Crossroads costs 928l a day’

Ahmedabad: If you are concerned that rising fuel prices are burning a hole in your pocket, here’s one way of saving some moolah: Turn off your vehicles at traffic lights. Amdavadis normally keep the engines running, which results in extra fuel consumption.
Fuel wasted while waiting at multiple traffic signals every day multiplied by the number of days per year adds up to a huge quantity of fuel, according to a study conducted by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and IIT-Roorkee.
In Ahmedabad, for instance, it was found that commuters at Helmet Crossroads alone wasted around 361 litres of CNG, 486 litres of petrol and 81 litres of diesel every day by not switching off their vehicles at the intersection, stated the 2020 study.
“A petrol car, if left idling at a junction, will waste 866ml of petrol in an hour, an autorickshaw will waste 677ml of fuel per hour, while large diesel buses and heavy commercial vehicles will waste 920 to 930ml per hour,” stated the study led by Hardik Gosar and Manoranjan Parida of IIT Roorkee and Ravi Sekhar Chalumuri of CRRI Delhi.
These scientists used a car fixed with GPS-based V-Box apparatus on test stretches to study the delay and speed characteristics at junctions. Apart from Helmet Crossroads, the scientists also studied traffic at Himalaya Mall junction and SAL hospital intersection.
When these scientists carried out a similar study at two signalized intersections in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, they found that fuel worth Rs 46.04 million was being wasted on the four approaches of two intersections — Stadium and Sector 19. After drivers were asked to switch off their engines, fuel loss was reduced up to 78.4% which led to savings worth Rs 26.12 million annually.