Summer Driving Tips

Summer in the Pacific Northwest is the time for warm weather and outdoor fun. With the long dreary gray days of winter past, everyone is anxious to be outdoors doing what people here do: boat, ride bikes, hike, swim, you name it - if it's done outdoors we do it.

That's great, too, but with the long, sunny warm days come higher pollution levels as gas vapors and other evaporative compounds mix together in the heat and sunshine. Add to that dust, smoke and other particulates, and our nice blue skies turn hazy, as smog begins to form.

Want to help keep the skies blue and air clean? There are a number of simple steps you can take that help. Check out the links below to learn about ways to help, then pick two or three you can commit to over the summer.

By choosing to do just a couple simple things, you'll keep excess vapors from escaping into the air, reducing smog and keeping the air healthy for all of us to breathe.

So, do your part. It's easy, it's painless, and it does make a difference because it all adds up to cleaner air.

• Summer's Simple Steps (130KB PDF)
• Topping Off Your Tank (165KB PDF)
• Asthma and Outdoor Pollution (522KB PDF)
• 12 Easy Tips (1MB PDF)
• Summer Quiz (435KB PDF)
• Roadtrip Checklist (430KB PDF)
• Summer Factsheet (74KB PDF)
• Radio public service announcement 1 (939KB mp3)
• Radio public service announcement 2 (N/A)
• Gas Station Vapor video clip (6.5MB WMV)

• Summer's Simple Steps (417KB PDF)