Safe Speed Forums

As a rough rule of thumb I'd turn the engine off if totally stationary in a level crossing/swing bridge queue or motorway jam for more than about a couple of minutes - I wouldn't expect to be done for that.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Fair enough! I was wondering if you had a fleet of ice cream vans or something!

Don't think so these days. In the "old days" when cars had carburettors, people tended to give a squirt of fuel by pressing the accelerator a bit each time they started up. With fuel injection that's barely discernible. There's also the argument that operating the starter uses electricity from the battery - which must then be replaced by the alternator - which, in turn gets it's energy from the engine, so the engine has to work that bit harder to top the battery back up again. On a well-maintained car in good condition, once the engine is warm, starting should be almost instant and the amount of electricity needed to top the battery back up is small. Hard to put figures on it, but from a "seat-of-the-pants" guess, I think after more than a minute or two of idling, switching the engine off is worthwhile.

On the other hand, (and especially in cold weather) the catalyst is likely to start cooling quickly as soon as the engine is turned off, so it won't work as efficiently until it is back up to temperature. Given that it doesn't do anything for CO2 (which seems to be public enemy No.1 these days), I don't suppose anyone's that bothered.

And then, there's the wear and tear on your starter and (perhaps more importantly) the ring gear on the flywheel...

It does not take a catalytic converter a lot of time to get cold enough to not convert........

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Also for those with turbocharged cars, there are circumstances where you need to leave the engine running for a bit to keep oil flowing to the turbo to cool it down to a sufficient temperature otherwise you'll do damage

Yes it's unfortunate that the people who make these stupid rules, know very little about how cars work, otherwise they would not come up with such "bright ideas", but then we only have to look at "road safety" in this country to realise that!

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Several points..

Every time you start, you chip away at your starter (and starter ring) teeth

On many modern cars, Starters are not only expensive, they are bothersome to fit. Many modern cars can take more than three hours (Consider some $tealers currently charge in excess of £100/hr!)

As for a damaged starter ring!

I suspect that modern batteries also have a distinct "Cycle life" of so many starts, (Say 3-4000 or so) Each time you "start" you use one up! Especially on a diesel!

( We're back to van/truck/bus drivers idling rather than switching off arent we! compared to cars we can add a zero, or even two, to any repair/replacement bill and then you have to add substantial recovery and loss of use costs on a commercial vehicle. )

How long does it take for oil to circulate? I wouldnt want to move off untill the oil presure guage is back to its mark (That would make me popular)

no doubt the people who would fine you for not switching your engine off would also fine you for obstruction if you cant get it started again!

I have a "Built in " sat nev/audio system. This takes the best part of a minute to boot up, then I have to go through the "Blue screen of Lawyers" bit to actually get back to the display! Either I would have to wait to do all this before moving off (that would make me popular too) or have to deal with the "Blue screen of lawyers" on the move (Which kind of defeats the object!)

Ho humm.

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"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"

On my car if after you start you usually have to wait for 10 seconds or so for things to settle in terms of the abs as if you start and move off too soon then the abs warning light will stay on as it needs to be stopped. Also with some of the later models if you started the car without the steering wheel being straight that upset the rear wheel steering.

In the summer I wouldn't switch off as I'm not going to sit in a baking car just because it upsets some eco-mentalists who all mysteriously holiday abroad and drink coffee from the remotest locations.

They also hold conferences at strange locations
to pontificate [at length] about global warming and how we have to stop flying/driving to save the planet.
I assume that saving the planet justifies killing the planet ?

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

I work here. My office - from where I type - is in the greenhouse & has to be minimum 17 deg C all year.

The big problem is the delivery van, as it's bulkheaded, so the payload doesn't warm up. We shove an electric heater in the back for 15 minutes...

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

I actually have Parked Car Heating on my car and have been using it regularly on these frosty mornings. It's very nice to peer out, see the ice, plip the remote and by the time you are out of the shower and dressed you just go out and drive off.

This uses a catalytic heater to burn a bit of diesel and does not involve starting the engine.

Take a look at: http://www.webasto.co.uk/am/en/am_automobile_3177.html

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

[quote]A council has instructed traffic wardens to issue £20 penalty notices to drivers who keep their engines on while parked/quote]

[pedant]. A non moving vehicle is only "parked" when the driver leaves it, until then it is "waiting" if at the kerbside or "stopped" if in the traffic stream. Leaving an unattended vehicle with the engine running is rather foolish and will certainly invalidate your theft insurance [/pedant]

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

That is also an offence if left running unattended on the public road.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Turbo timer

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Driving fast is for a particular time and place, I can do it I just only do it occasionally because I am a gentleman.
- James May

Legally dubious

Would be amusing when the jobsworth tells you to turn your engine off, and you turn off and remove the key and the engine carries on running.

And some cars start themselves when the battery reaches a certain level.

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nigel_bytes

Really?
I would hope owners wouldn't leave those cars in gear when parked (on inclines for example)

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

... and now if you could only get one for the road too !

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

You can (and many have) be ticketed for parking just for stopping at the kerbside...engine running.
With the approval of "ticketting-by-cctv" came the certainty of being fined for parking by stopping in a controlled zone long enough to get noticed.
And in MY town some of the parking attendants have video cameras head-mounted to film the offence/offending vehicle, and then the ticket is sent to the keeper.
Technically, you can be fined for obstructing the highway by having your engine off and stopping other vehicles passing you.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing