School children wait in cold while bus engines won’t turn over
Posted Jan 24, 2011 10:17:48 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was a bitter morning for the drivers who’s vehicles wouldn’t start because of the fridged temperatures and for the school children who had to wait for late buses in the cold.
Ten school buses were running as late at 30 minutes this morning due to the minus 15 degree low reached overnight.
“The engine oil gets so think the engine can’t turn over fast enough in order to create enough pressure in order to ignite the diesel fuel,” said Troy Finney, general manager of Stock Transportation. “We plug in as many of (buses) as we can.”
Finney says there’s always potential for the bus engines not to start in the morning after sitting all night in minus double-digit temperatures. He warns parents the same could happen tomorrow morning, although it won’t be the case for the drive home.
“We’ve had the opportunity to get the buses running and now we’ll target the problem buses. We’ll have the maintenance team look at them and fixed up for the afternoon runs,” said Finney.
Parents driving their children to school, and even the average motorist, might have had trouble with their vehicles today as the cold temperature jarred engines.
CAA spokesperson Gary Howard says there are three ways to keep your vehicle running well in cold temperatures. First, he recommends having the vehicle’s battery checked.
“If you’re battery is operating at 60 per cent in normal weather it sure isn’t going to work on a day like today,” said Howard.
Second, he suggested using a block heater to keep the engine parts and fluids warmer when the vehicle is not running, and third, he recommended not idling.
“A vehicle is working its hardest when it is just sitting still.”
