Northwest Iowa — On these cold winter northwest Iowa mornings a lot of us are violating a little known Iowa law without realizing it. State Senator David Johnson wants to get rid of that law.
Johnson told KIWA about one section of the law that he’s trying to remove from the books.
Another aspect of the law makes it illegal to leave the motor running on an unattended vehicle.
The Senator says that, when the law was passed, there was a legitimate reason for it.
Johnson says that, according to the letter of the law, the use of remote car starters that allow the vehicle to be warm by the time the driver gets inside, is not allowed.
He says that, although he’s not aware of anyone being cited for the infraction in recent history, he still thinks the law should be repealed. The Iowa Code specifies a $20 fine for the infraction. Not a substantial penalty today, but when the law was passed in 1913, that was a pretty stiff penalty, so Johnson said he assumes it was considered a fairly serious crime back then.
