Why is it illegal to leave your unattended with the engine..

[Mr E]

willis1337 said:

Can you lock and alarm it while the engine is running? What's the point of that?

Stoofa said:

You can't alarm a car with the engine running surely?
Once armed the immobiliser should also kick-in.

Turbo timer. Mine was configured to run until it decided the turbo was cool enough (usually sub 60 seconds), I'd lock the car. If you smashed the window and dropped the handbrake it would kill the engine and immobilise. Once the TT shut the engine down, the immobiliser would activate anyway.

dougc said:

Does this make turbo timers technically illegal?

To fit no. To use as they're intended to be used, yes.

[rhinochopig]

omgus said:

dougc said:

Does this make turbo timers technically illegal?

Nope, they are perfectly legal.

Using a turbo timer however is a grey area.

I did have a very interesting conversation with a Traffic Warden at Edinburgh airport where he admitted i couldn't be fined for using my phone because my handbrake was on and my keys where not in the ignition, but he also couldn't fine me for being parked in the drop off area because my engine was running.


I mostly use mine in the winter to heat my car up before my drive to work.

Their use possibly is illegal. My Evo (import) came over with one fitted, but had to be removed for the SVA as it wasn't legal. Make of that what you will???

[omgus]

rhinochopig said:

Their use possibly is illegal. My Evo (import) came over with one fitted, but had to be removed for the SVA as it wasn't legal. Make of that what you will???

In my terms and conditions if my car is stolen when the turbo timer is left on then insurance won't pay out. But declaring the turbo timer didn't increase the premiums which is a bonus.

[willis1337]

Mr E said:

willis1337 said:

Can you lock and alarm it while the engine is running? What's the point of that?

Stoofa said:

You can't alarm a car with the engine running surely?
Once armed the immobiliser should also kick-in.

Turbo timer. Mine was configured to run until it decided the turbo was cool enough (usually sub 60 seconds), I'd lock the car. If you smashed the window and dropped the handbrake it would kill the engine and immobilise. Once the TT shut the engine down, the immobiliser would activate anyway.

dougc said:

Does this make turbo timers technically illegal?

To fit no. To use as they're intended to be used, yes.

Blimey I never knew that - learn something new everyday.

[Vaux]

SS2. said:

Golden fleece said:

...running?? Seems like a pretty dumb law to me!

Two possible candidates, both from Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regs. 1986 -

Reg 98 makes it an offence to leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while the vehicle is parked.

Reg 107 makes it an offence to leave an engine running in an unattended vehicle.

Both of the above are subject to specified statutory exceptions.

Summarized in the publication, The Highway Code:

123
The Driver and the Environment. You MUST NOT leave a parked vehicle unattended with the engine running or leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road. Generally, if the vehicle is stationary and is likely to remain so for more than a couple of minutes, you should apply the parking brake and switch off the engine to reduce emissions and noise pollution. However it is permissible to leave the engine running if the vehicle is stationary in traffic or for diagnosing faults.
[Law CUR regs 98 & 107]

[Rude-boy]

heebeegeetee said:

A few years back a car was left here in Brum with the engine running, a scrote jumped in and used it to chase and kill a police motorcyclist.

The owner should have been done with involuntary manslaughter or somesuch, imo.

Yeah, I mean that was totally forseable wasn't it. Come on.

[Mr2Mike]

Rude-boy said:

The owner should have been done with involuntary manslaughter or somesuch, imo.

Yeah, I mean that was totally forseable wasn't it. Come on.

It was most certainly forseeable that an unattended, unlocked car with the engine running is far more likely to be stolen.

[anonymous-user]

Do all/any bib vehicles have a 'run lock' or just 'certain' ones i'e a dog car to keep air con running for animal welfare ?

Or do you end up with flat batteries on a longish job leaving all the lights radios on etc. Have you got two batteries in your vehicles ?

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 29th July 17:10

[PhillipM]

kamilb1998 said:

So what the goverment are basically saying is if you have an old car that needs to be warmed up before going anywhere, you'll get a ticket? That is just over the top

You should never warm a car up by leaving it idling, absolutely one of the worst things you can do in terms of wear and tear for an engine that.

[steve_k]

Vosa leave their vehicles running unattended all day when at road checks so the cameras dont flatten the battery. Their cars are fitted with a system so they will run with the keys out I cant see them breaking the law so there must be an exemption if the vehicle is fitted with this system.

[mph1977]

kamilb1998 said:

covboy said:

kamilb1998 said:

So what the goverment are basically saying is if you have an old car that needs to be warmed up before going anywhere, you'll get a ticket? That is just over the top

Ever thought of sitting in it while it warms up ???

Yeah, but what people do sometimes to save a bit of time is get the car running and go indoors and get yourself ready, and then go out to a warmed up car.

if it's on private land it's less of an issue

as others have said it;s an invitation to TWOCers , if TWOC didn't exist as an offence i'd love nothing more than to jump into these cars drive then round the corner than return the keys to the premises they were outside ...

as has been suggested crash 'boxes and the absence of runlock / teurbo timers in the past made it unwise ...

if you consider that in a vehicle with a run -lock touching the clutch or the accelator without the keys back in and in the normal 'run' position stalls the vehicle ( in some set-ups you also have to disable the runlock - usually where it's incorporated into ' on scene ' modes rather than just a runlock switch )... don't know about turbo timers as i don't drive anything with one ...

[mph1977]

speedyguy said:

Do all/any bib vehicles have a 'run lock' or just 'certain' ones i'e a dog car to keep air con running for animal welfare ?

Or do you end up with flat batteries on a longish job leaving all the lights radios on etc. Have you got two batteries in your vehicles ?

Edited by speedyguy on Thursday 29th July 17:10

I suspect the answer will be force dependant

as for numbers of batteries , most Ambulances have at least 2 ( just in some the secondary battery is crappy bike battery becasue the superduper electronics is meant to load shed in time to save the main battery ) and some have 3 or 4

traditionally i.e. up until the 1990s you just had 2 parallel batteries in an ambulance and could flattened the batteries at scene quite easily

for the past 10 or more years it has got more and more complex, but at the end of the day there aren't no substitute for cubes ... ( i.e. ccs of acid in a number of decent batteries)

[JulianHJ]

speedyguy said:

Do all/any bib vehicles have a 'run lock' or just 'certain' ones i'e a dog car to keep air con running for animal welfare ?

Or do you end up with flat batteries on a longish job leaving all the lights radios on etc. Have you got two batteries in your vehicles ?

All our vehicles with emergency warning equipment (blues'n'twos) have runlock - it's essential in quite a few circumstances.