Reward for reporting idling cars.

[Samuel D]

We're back to the time of year where I start my car at work after nights about 20-25 mins before I clock out so it's nice a toasty when I get in I'm not the only one either.Most do.I can't remember when I last scraped frost off a windscreen...that's what the engine and heated windscreen is for

And you’re even proud to report this laziness, profligacy, and disregard for others’ well-being here.

Not cool.

Your car might burn up to a pound (half a kilo) of fuel doing that, spewing needless exhaust gases from a particularly dirty regime while harming the engine into the bargain, further impairing its emissions in the long-term and shortening its life.

This is why we can’t have nice things. Too many of us cannot be trusted with them. The result is the overbearing regulation that you’re no doubt first in line to decry.

[Mike Sales]

There is a folding bridge near me, lots of motorists leave their motors running or start them too soon. While cycling by I shout 'MOTOR OFF!'

To which I'd reply "F*** OFF"
I hired a van to go on holiday last month.VW Transporter which has the stop/start engine.First thing I did when I got in the van is start it then switch off the stop/start.It's just annoying
We're back to the time of year where I start my car at work after nights about 20-25 mins before I clock out so it's nice a toasty when I get in I'm not the only one either.Most do.I can't remember when I last scraped frost off a windscreen...that's what the engine and heated windscreen is for

I trust you don't whinge when the price of fuel goes up.

[Cyril Haearn]

I do not want a reward, I just wish the cops would use strong language when dealing with the mortons

[mikeymo]

On a frosty morning I run the engine while the car is on the drive, usually while I'm loading my work gear into it.

I do this so that the windows are free of frost on the outside, and condensation on the inside, once I start driving.

This means I can hopefully "stop in the distance I can see to be clear". As we are regularly reminded, on this forum, this is our duty under the highway code.

I hope this behaviour is acceptable. Please let me know if not.

[philg]

My car has start/stop which I am happy to leave on to do its job.
It does however not turn the engine off under various conditions such as low battery, engine too hot or cold etc.
Clearly Ford need to be made aware of the strength of feeling on the subject and amend their firmware urgently.

[Samuel D]

On a frosty morning I run the engine while the car is on the drive, usually while I'm loading my work gear into it.

I do this so that the windows are free of frost on the outside, and condensation on the inside, once I start driving.

They would be free of condensation anyway if you set the ventilation optimally before rather than after they start steaming up from your breathing. Don’t do what I often see: get in the car panting, close the doors, get the child comfortable in the back seat, rummage in pockets to find the key, and finally set off with the HVAC controls as they were left at the end of the last drive.

I hope this behaviour is acceptable. Please let me know if not.

It might be an offence (Rule 123 of the Highway Code).

It pollutes more than necessary, both locally and CO2.

It’s not good for the engine. Engines warm up a lot faster (in both time and cycles) if subjected to a little work. That’s why your owner manual says to start the engine and drive off (without heavy load or high revs until it’s warm). The longer an engine runs cold, the greater the wear. Diesels are even slower than petrols at reaching operating temperature when idling.

I’m not unreasonable about this and don’t think a brief idling period to make the car more driveable from the outset is unacceptable, especially if the vehicle wants that (carbs, immediately joining a motorway, etc.), but a systematic 20-minute idle when getting out of work is pretty obnoxious and terrible for the engine.

[fullupandslowingdown]

it's all too easy in winter to get an annoying build up of condensation from work boots and jacket that hangs around till next morning requiring several minutes of demister action, I no longer have a heated windscreen It would be great if we could simply plug the car into the mains, a combined engine oil heater, and cabin warmer/demister first thing to save running the engine.... No wait, we can, it's called an electric car, that's if you have off road parking
I actually bought one of those 240VAC/12V DC mini dehumidifiers to try and suck the moisture overnight, but they're useless - wouldn't recommend anyone buy them - one of the less attractive periodical bargains at lidlaldi.
But my biggest annoyance is those who leave their headlights on when parked up for 15 minutes when parked wrong side of road. darn well turn to sidelights and stop dazzling others

[Oldjohnw]

I'm in the happy position in retirement rarely to require my car early in the morning.

But when I know I will I need it I spread a nylon sheet over the windscreen overnight. Works perfectly every time. On really cold sub zero mornings there is s problem inside the screen. Slightly warm cloth sorts that.

[Cyril Haearn]

Electric vehicles switch their motors off when not moving, plusminus?

[Bonefishblues]

Electric vehicles switch their motors on when moving, shirley, Cecil?

[Oldjohnw]

My stop start works well enough in the right conditions. I
have less of a problem with people leaving the engine running at lights or somewhere than someone sitting outside a supermarket, generally in the no parking/drop off area, engine running for 20 minutes whilst the woman shops.

[pwa]

I struggle with getting the windscreen clear on very cold mornings. I'm happy to get the bulk of the exterior frost off by scraping, but I get frost inside too. And no amount of wiping gets the windscreen as clear as I want for safe driving. Especially in the hours of darkness when the lights of oncoming traffic exacerbate the problem. I do let the engine idle for a short time to address that issue. I don't like doing that and if I knew of a better solution I would use it.

Widening this out a bit, anyone got any clever suggestions for cleaning the inside of windscreens?

[Oldjohnw]

I struggle with getting the windscreen clear on very cold mornings. I'm happy to get the bulk of the exterior frost off by scraping, but I get frost inside too. And no amount of wiping gets the windscreen as clear as I want for safe driving. Especially in the hours of darkness when the lights of oncoming traffic exacerbate the problem. I do let the engine idle for a short time to address that issue. I don't like doing that and if I knew of a better solution I would use it.

Widening this out a bit, anyone got any clever suggestions for cleaning the inside of windscreens?

Slightly warm water as above. Gentle hairdryer. But I agree about the difficulty. +1 for your reluctance.

As I wrote above, I generally have the luxury of not being in a hurry.

[pwa]

I struggle with getting the windscreen clear on very cold mornings. I'm happy to get the bulk of the exterior frost off by scraping, but I get frost inside too. And no amount of wiping gets the windscreen as clear as I want for safe driving. Especially in the hours of darkness when the lights of oncoming traffic exacerbate the problem. I do let the engine idle for a short time to address that issue. I don't like doing that and if I knew of a better solution I would use it.

Widening this out a bit, anyone got any clever suggestions for cleaning the inside of windscreens?

Slightly warm water as above. Gentle hairdryer. But I agree about the difficulty. +1 for your reluctance.

As I wrote above, I generally have the luxury of not being in a hurry.

I did wonder about sticking a couple of hot water bottles on the dash for twenty minutes.

[Pastychomper]

I just scrapped a car that had been in use for eighteen years. One of the known issues of the model was a leaky rear window, which meant internal condensation was the norm in winter - even after I cut a drain hole in the little compartment in the boot. The second best treatment involved a 2kW fan heater and a long extension.

I started looking into phase-changing materials as a heat store - my idea was to make a giant version of a re-usable hand warmer, but using a material that could be melted on a radiator and froze somewhere above the car's dew point. A rough estimate told me it could probably be made small enough to carry but big enough to warm the cabin by a few degrees. Would have taken a while though.

I got as far as finding a few of recipes for solutions that could do it, then learned that some are already available in sealed blocks for use as heat reservoirs in buildings. But they were pricey, the winter was warm, and the car failed one too many MOTs, so that's as far as I got.