Motorists face threat of £120 for letting their engines idle!

[Shadeyman]

Motorists could be fined up to £120 for leaving their car engines idling, under plans drawn up by Boris Johnson.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring...at-of-120-for-letting-their-engines-idle.html

I let my car idle every cold morning to warm the car before I put the kids in to take them to school.

My grandfather fought for his and everyone elses freedom in the second world war. I can just imagine the colourfull words he'd say if he was told he couldn't let his car idle.

 

[dronenrs]

what !!!! thats almost impossible to enforce.. i understand if therye sat for like half hour.. also does he realise that it uses more fuel to start and engine than to let it idle for a short period.

 

[arc]

I let my car idle every cold morning to warm the car before I put the kids in to take them to school.

well you shouldn't

Addendum:
Regulation 107(2)(a). This states that no person shall cause or permit to be on any road any motor vehicle which is not attended by a person duly licensed to drive it unless the engine is stopped and the parking brake is effectively set. Exemptions to the requirements of this Regulation as to the stopping of the engine include a fire brigade vehicle, the engine of which is being used for any fire brigade purpose.

and that's been there since 1986 iirc!

Higher penalties would hit an array of road users from delivery drivers and taxis to mothers waiting to pick up their children from school.

nothing wrong with that at all, it's horrible walking past a taxi rank in the city with a load of diesel engines chugging away

 

[dave]

well you shouldn't



and that's been there since 1986 iirc!



nothing wrong with that at all, it's horrible walking past a taxi rank in the city with a load of diesel engines chugging away

he may have off road parking.

this Boris bloke is a div, cats dont work unless they are hot so turning car off all the time is going to make more crap come out the end

 

[Shadeyman]

he may have off road parking.

Enought for 6 cars.

Will be 7 cars when I eventually get around to moving the rubble from having the garden wall rebuilt.

 

[Kier]

If your kids are cold in the mornings, get them to put another top on...not that hard really.

Fairly sure if your car is stolen when your warming it up your insurance company won't pay out.

Don't think I've never warmed my car up before driving off...not done any harm.

 

[Eklipze3k]

I haven't read the article but does this only apply to unattended cars? Certainly that's what the regulation that arc referred to cites, if this is about cars in any situation (attended or not) being left to idle for any length of time then I guess traffic lights will need to be abolished, too.

 

[arc]

this Boris bloke is a div, cats dont work unless they are hot so turning car off all the time is going to make more crap come out the end

Euro 5/6 emission targets mean cars warm up very quickly, these are the reasons the cat is close to the manifold, why starjet etc exists.

Letting an engine sit and idle isn't the best way to warm up the engine, light load is.

Also looking back at the article

“For us to consider a case for increasing the penalty, we need to see clear evidence of the level of non compliance.

“If there proves to be an issue with non compliance, we will be happy to work with the Mayor on considering his proposal.”

So in short, nothing is actually going to happen.

I don't think anyone is proposing to run around fining people for idling their engines, but for people who park up outside schools, taxis, delivery drivers etc who sit in the same place every day waiting for 20mins or whatever with their engines on DO need to be fined imo.

 

[dave]

Euro 5/6 emission targets mean cars warm up very quickly, these are the reasons the cat is close to the manifold, why starjet etc exists.

dont work though does it. plenty here moaning about their diesels not getting hot enough to run the heater on even brand new cars. mk2 punto has manicat but still fail on emissions at mot time if not very hot

 

[Shadeyman]

If your kids are cold in the mornings, get them to put another top on...not that hard really.

Fairly sure if your car is stolen when your warming it up your insurance company won't pay out.

Don't think I've never warmed my car up before driving off...not done any harm.

My kids are never cold in the mornings because I always warm the car before I put them in it .... not that hard really.

I have a double garage that the car is kept in over night. Its also where I leave it ticking over in the morning main door to the drive left closed till the car interior is warm and me and the kids are ready to go. I also have a large Mastiff wondering around the garden and garage at that time in the morning, so I doubt very much it would get stolen.

I dont care about the car, warm or cold, but I do care about my kids so the car is left ticking over.

 

[custard]

already inp lace in Edinburgh for a few years
theres signs up at bis stops as well to warn bus drivers
storm in a tea cup

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/Crackdown-on-idling-engines-gets.6677982.jp

as you can see,it hardly is a mass cull
as for leaving the car to warm up? no need
I get warm air from either car within 1.5 miles of driving from the house

 

[ben]

I haven't read the article but does this only apply to unattended cars? Certainly that's what the regulation that arc referred to cites, if this is about cars in any situation (attended or not) being left to idle for any length of time then I guess traffic lights will need to be abolished, too.

In Japan, buses switch off their engines at long stop traffic lights (random info - lol)

 

[Shadeyman]

In Japan, buses switch off their engines at long stop traffic lights (random info - lol)

How long is "long stop"?

 

[ben]

In my experience, it seems to be if they have been waiting longer than 10-20 seconds or so (certainly in Fukuoka prefecture - I didn't take many buses in Tokyo)

But isn't this what Fiat's Start-Stop does anyway?

 

[Prilliant03]

There's a part of me thinking I've paid a small fortune (mostly duty) to have that fuel in my car.

Now p*ss off telling me whether or not I can waste it. It's mine you interfering twunt!

 

[volxstu]

I cant see how they would be able to police it. I cant tune my Audio at home because the noise annoys the Neighbours. I have no way of plugging the car into the mains when in some random car park so when the batteries get low i have to run the engine and let the car idle to recharge them.

 

[Shadeyman]

There's a part of me thinking I've paid a small fortune (mostly duty) to have that fuel in my car.

Now p*ss off telling me whether or not I can waste it. It's mine you interfering twunt!

 

[arc]

There's a part of me thinking I've paid a small fortune (mostly duty) to have that fuel in my car.

Now p*ss off telling me whether or not I can waste it. It's mine you interfering twunt!

It's not just about you wasting your fuel though is it, it's wasting fuel which is in turn kicking out needless nasty fumes.

Amazes me how many people seem to struggle with concepts like this :bang:

 

[Prilliant03]

It's not just about you wasting your fuel though is it, it's wasting fuel which is in turn kicking out needless nasty fumes.

Amazes me how many people seem to struggle with concepts like this :bang:

Amazes me how many people fail to grasp a degree of sarcasm

As far as I can tell those who actually care about the polar bears, pandas and penguins (ie. ME!) will not leave their car idling and wasting £££s needlessly.

Those who don't give a rat's ass are not likely to change their habbits on the say of Boris.

What I object to is anybody considering this needs a law, particulary when these laws are dreamed up by politicians who think nothing of flying to the other side of the world for a climate conference. I can only surmise they haven't discovered web conferencing just yet.

Incidentally, there are still plenty of people who remain unconvinced of the car's contribution to climate change.

 

[ChrisUK]

I'll run my engine when I want, how I want as long as I'm paying exorbitant amount of tax and fuel duty on it. And tbh I'm not going to let some weird idiot working under a nanny state tell me any different.

Has he not got anything better to do?