Car idling, illegal...?

Question

...people are being charged for car idling. my car needs to warm up before it goes or it starts jumping all over the place & runs very slowly, coughing & spluttering which could cause an accidend so iv no choice but to warm it up & risk getting charged for it. what about the taxi drivers, they have to freeze when waiting for customers or get charged for breaking the law. how about de-frosting a car, you could get charged for that too, how are you supposed to see the road or drive with frosted windows? what if its raining, the car steams up & the windows should be clear to see the road, you get charged again for de-steaming your windows & driving with steamed up windows! that law shocking!!!

Why get charged for trying be safe?

Answer 1

Are you sure its just "your car idling" because i know around here if your car is running and your not in it then that is illegal but i dont know about just it running with you in it.

Answer 2

ok well...i dont think it would be illegal if your just going to drive away after warming your car up. I think its just like Car Idling for a longer time because if your just going to warm your car up it should be fine coz that doesnt exactly take long.

And as for the likes of waiting on the steemed windows that should be fine aswell coz your not exactly sitting in your car doing nothing your trying to be safe waitng for the steam to go down before you start to drive.

Answer 3

A typical bit of UK law going mad!! Go and live in Spain and enjoy a quiet life in the sun and idle your car as long as you wish!!

Answer 4

What country is this in? I can spend all night idling with no objections from the state thugs.

Answer 5

UK.

The actual offence is called 'Quitting', it's leaving a motor vehicle unattended with the engine running OR without the parking brake set. Although there is now a call to clamp down motorists who sit for long periods with their engine running.

Answer 6

Some people go back in doors while the car is warming up.  You are running of having the car stolen.   What you should do is actually stay with the car and NOT go back indoors.

The police are charging anyone caught doing this, to try and recover some of the costs of them processing the paperwork of stolen cars.

Answer 7

Not sure where your at, but this must be one of these crazy Carbon Tax laws. You never gave any information about your car to see if we could help your cold run problem. But if you have a carburetor, its possible the choke is sticking closed on you. I would look at having it rebuilt. As far as everything else, you may want to talk to your local motor vehicle division and see exactly where the law sits on this and what would cause a citation to be issued. It may be worth the effort to get a Taxi endorsement to avoid a ticket.

Answer 8

It's only illegal if you leave it unattended.

Answer 9

the highway code states that you should not leave your car unattended with the engine running on the public highway and yes it is an offence. not only that if your car is stolen in this situation your insurance company will not pay out

Answer 10

You wont get ride of the rule or the law, it is there for every ones protection and safety, idling in a car is very dangerous.

Answer 11

In UK it's illegal to leave the vehicle unattended with the engine running in a public place. It's ok on private parking, but unwise if you don't want it stolen.

If you can't drive it away immediately after start-up then there is something wrong with the engine or your way of driving it

Answer 12

Oh yeah good old OXFORD, England. I watched this on the news the other day and just could not believe what I was hearing. What idiot in Oxford decided on that one. It would kill off all the trade in the area as no one would want to go there to shop or do business.

What about things like the dustbin lorries which crawl along at a snails pace emitting twice as much fumes into the atmosphere.

I just cannot see how this can be policed. Oh look his/her car is running lets nick them! I don't think so.

Wasn't it Oxford that decided that leaving rubbish bags out on the streets for two weeks was a good idea?

Answer 13

Never heard of that. You shouldn't get charged for warming your car up. It doesn't make any sense.

Answer 14

what  a weird country we now live in!

Answer 15

I don't know where you live but I have never heard of an idling law.......You must be on the west coast somewhere. The governments  out there seem to be more "green" than the rest of the country. It has to be a new environmental based law they came up with to clean something with the money they collect.

Answer 16

Where the h**l do you live ?

Answer 17

I haven't heard of anyone in the UK being charged for this. I have heard leaving a running car unattended is illegal, but I don't know if this is true. Leaving a car running without being present is certainly stupid beyond belief. It is so easy to steal that car, and your insurance won't pay out.

Defrosting, demisting and warming sounds fine to me, though revving at 5am is a little anti-social I think.

If you want to change it, join a political party, get elected as an MP, and introduce a Private Members Bill. Not very likely eh?

Answer 18

The is no such law in the UK. It is an offence to leave your car running while not in attendance.

Answer 19

Yea, surprising but true in the UK law books (along with one about hooting in residential areas ater certain times). Best option, get your choke checked as seems its sticking on ya. If you need to warm up you car, just warm it&enjoy, let the law boys catch up with you after they've caught all the real criminals.