Idling Idiots

lordrobs · 24 Jan 2021 at 12:17

Has anyone worked out the mentality of those people who mindlessly idle their (normally diesel) engines for extended periods of time?

I've got a neighbour who's rusty heap of a work mini bus gets started at 7:45 on the dot and finally driven off at 8:10. Doesn't make a difference if there is a frost or not, 25 minutes of *dag dag dag dag* five days a week. I know my front door is a bit draughty but if the wind is blowing the wrong way I can smell the diesel stink in my hall.

Yesterday we went for a walk round our village and there was a guy in a Transit talking to a couple with his engine running. Fair enough, maybe he's only stopped for a couple of minutes. Nearly half an hour later when we came back round he was still sat there, still idling. I actually cheered when 5 minutes later he drove past us. We then saw a Nissan SUV running, no owner in sight, which was running for at least 10 minutes parked at the side of the road.

I totally get running your car for a bit to demist it before driving off but what is the point in running an engine for so long without it even moving? Is it that much effort to switch it off? Are they that lacking in confidence that it will start again?

What really bugs me is that these are probably the sort of people to wax lyrical about how good the fuel economy is on their oil burner.

I'm not really one for peoples hands being forced by the government but I'm now starting to think bring on the ICE ban because some people are too stupid/selfish to be trusted with a combustion engine.

Diddums · 24 Jan 2021 at 12:22

Does my head in. There's no need for it and it just tells everyone around you that you're probably a bit dim.

PiKe · 24 Jan 2021 at 12:24

Get in and drive it down the road, they won't do it again.

andy_mk3 · 24 Jan 2021 at 12:30

There's some sort of care worker that visits a guy down the road from me. I think she has her lunch break afterwards and literally sits there for an hour with the engine running. It's really annoys me.

HoneyBadger · 24 Jan 2021 at 12:35

I idle all the time.

lordrobs · 24 Jan 2021 at 12:41

PiKe said:
Get in and drive it down the road, they won't do it again.

It is tempting. As is going Axel Foley on it

Dyson · 24 Jan 2021 at 12:43

Motor bikes are the worst in my experience - just ride it!!!!

Gaygle · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:04

Yeh hate it when people do it. Some woman left her car idling at the BP garage the other day at 10pm on a deserted forecourt with the car unlocked.

I turned the car off, took the keys inside and gave them to the woman. Admittedly that was more crime prevention than anything, but still.

It also annoys me when people at work leave their job cars idling so that when they finally get into them an hour later, the cabin is warm in winter/cold in the summer. These are on 17-20 plate BMWs which warm up in about 3 minutes in the winter and cool down in about 60 seconds in the summer.

watercooledman · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:06

Gaygle said:
Yeh hate it when people do it. Some woman left her car idling at the BP garage the other day at 10pm on a deserted forecourt with the car unlocked.

I turned the car off, took the keys inside and gave them to the woman. Admittedly that was more crime prevention than anything, but still.

It also annoys me when people at work leave their job cars idling so that when they finally get into them an hour later, the cabin is warm in winter/cold in the summer. These are on 17-20 plate BMWs which warm up in about 3 minutes in the winter and cool down in about 60 seconds in the summer.

you went inside someone else's car, that's weird.

Scuzi · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:12

Dyson said:
Motor bikes are the worst in my experience - just ride it!!!!

Some of the older carb engined bikes, especially singles, need a few minutes before the engine is responsive enough to ride safely. Modern fuel injected bikes are mostly fine to start and go.

dlockers · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:13

watercooledman said:
you went inside someone else's car, that's weird.

Yep. Very White Knight-ish.

Gaygle · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:16

watercooledman said:
you went inside someone else's car, that's weird.

It's kind of expected of you when you're wearing a certain uniform and you're aware that two unattended cars/vans opportunistically stolen in the past 14 days nearby

Maccapacca · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:18

But I’ve paid for a vehicle with remote climate

watercooledman · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:21

i have just gone outside and started the car up and left it running unattended.
not used the car about a week.

Gaygle · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:27

watercooledman said:
i have just gone outside and started the car up and left it running unattended.
not used the car about a week.

There would be a strange sort of irony if someone jumped in your car and drove off in it, especially considering insurance companies make it abundantly clear they wouldn't pay out when an owner has shown disregard for the security of the car.

watercooledman · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:29

but the car can be started with the remote and doors stay locked ?

Terminal_Boy · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:33

Scuzi said:
Some of the older carb engined bikes, especially singles, need a few minutes before the engine is responsive enough to ride safely. Modern fuel injected bikes are mostly fine to start and go.

I found carburettors and water cooling to be the worst combination for warming up with 4 cylinder motorcycles. You can’t just give it 30 seconds on choke and expect to pull away cleanly as there’s not the pool of warm air around the carbs for a while due to the water jacket. Vaporising petrol has a cooling effect on the carbs as well. Finding out that that your Mikuni flat slide carbs have iced up wide open at the end of Snetterton’s back straight on a cool day is no fun at all.

Idling a modern Diesel engine for more than a minute of two outside of Scandinavian/Russian winter conditions is just a waste of fuel. Doubly so now that just about every vehicle has heated windscreen and wing mirrors.

Diddums · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:37

Terminal_Boy said:
I found carburettors and water cooling to be the worst combination for warming up with 4 cylinder motorcycles. You can’t just give it 30 seconds on choke and expect to pull away cleanly as there’s not the pool of warm air around the carbs for a while due to the water jacket. Vaporising petrol has a cooling effect on the carbs as well. Finding out that that your Mikuni flat slide carbs have iced up wide open at the end of Snetterton’s back straight on a cool day is no fun at all.

Idling a modern Diesel engine for more than a minute of two outside of Scandinavian/Russian winter conditions is just a waste of fuel. Doubly so now that just about every vehicle has heated windscreen and wing mirrors.

Flat slides are an absolute nightmare in the cold, I had no end of trouble with them. I ended up running Dell'Ortos in summer and Mikunis in winter lol.

bloodiedathame · 24 Jan 2021 at 13:39

It's illegal to let you car sit idle. Rule 123 of the highway code. Don't do it.

paradigm · 24 Jan 2021 at 14:19

bloodiedathame said:
It's illegal to let you car sit idle. Rule 123 of the highway code. Don't do it.

Only if it is “unnecessary” and whilst on a public road. Unnecessary is open to interpretation.

I left my TT idling for half an hour earlier, because it’s not been run for a few weeks and I wanted to dry out the convertible roof, that needs heat, you don’t get heat without the engine running.

Idling Idiots

Tea Drinker