Motoring Discussion > Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines Green Issues
Thread Author: VxFan Replies: 21
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 Mon 23 Mar 15 13:59 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines - VxFan

Motorists in Westminster who sit in a stationary car with the engine running and refuse to turn it off are to be fined £20.

A team of traffic marshals will patrol the borough and ask car idlers to switch off their engines

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31989916

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 Tue 24 Mar 15 09:33 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines - Fursty Ferret
Good. Though I'd have made the fine £200 and given the general public 50% for shopping other drivers.

Can't stand people who sit in car parks etc with the engine running. Usually on the phone. Nearly always middle-aged and older. Some of us still have to live on this planet when you've popped your clogs.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 09:58 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face �£20 f - Manatee
That's a staggering comment from somebody in the airline industry, in which 90% of journeys are unnecessary.

I few minutes on tickover is neither here nor there.

Eco-facism!
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 10:09 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines - rtj70
Most car journeys are unnecessary too if you think like that. We could all work close to home and walk/cycle. And shop at local shops. So 90% of car journeys including yours are not strictly necessary.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 24 Mar 15 at 10:09
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 10:14 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines - Bromptonaut
>> Most car journeys are unnecessary too if you think like that. We could all work
>> close to home and walk/cycle. And shop at local shops. So 90% of car journeys
>> including yours are not strictly necessary.

Ignore the 'work closer to home bit'. Most trips under say 4 miles, at least for the reasonably fit, could easily be replaced by walking or cycling. Almost as quick too.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 11:02 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - WillDeBeest
Define 'unnecessary'! Is a caravannist dragging his accommodation to a place that already has beds for hire in nice dry buildings unnecessary? Clearly. How about driving to a supermarket when one delivery van can cover a dozen households in one trip?

Airlines go to great lengths - one-engine taxis, even tractor-tows to the runway - to save fuel for the actual flying. Like Fursty I've no problem with penalizing wasteful behaviour on the ground.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 10:10 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines - Focusless
I'm surprised they ask first and only issue the fine on refusal; almost seems antiquated (in a nice way).
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 11:52 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face �£20 f - Cliff Pope
>> I'm surprised they ask first and only issue the fine on refusal; almost seems antiquated
>> (in a nice way).
>>

Perhaps it's to give the driver the chance to offer a good reason for leaving the engine running:

The battery/alternator is playing up, and the engine won't restart if I switch it off. Are you volunteering to help bump-start it if I do as you suggest?

My car is running on LPG, as you know an exceedingly clean fuel. If I turn it off it will automatically restart on petrol before switching back to LPG. Are you asking me to waste that petrol and to cause unnecessary pollution while doing so?
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 14:15 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines - henry k
>>Perhaps it's to give the driver the chance to offer a good reason for leaving the engine running:
>>
I have started so I will continue ?
You may be cold but I need the heater on for my medical condition
You may be hot but I need the A/C on for my medical condition.
My Sat Nav says....
Its a Pius so I am exempt.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 15:59 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines - Slidingpillar
Ask me to turn off with the vintage car, and they'll wish they hadn't. Takes about a minute to do a hot re-start and I have to get out of the car to do it too. Would certainly miss a traffic light cycle if I did.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 16:13 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face �£20 f - Duncan
>> Ask me to turn off with the vintage car, and they'll wish they hadn't. Takes about a minute to >>do a hot re-start and I have to get out of the car to do it too. Would certainly miss a traffic light >>cycle if I did.


When my party get into power, you won't be allowed to take your car into a city.

In fact, we might ban your car altogether.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 17:24 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face £20 fines - Cliff Pope

>> >>
>> I have started so I will continue ?
>>

My horse is munching oats from his nosebag. If you try to move him on before he has finished he will probably kick you.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 17:37 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face �£20 f - henry k
Oats were in my thoughts too.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 18:24 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - sajid
another war on the motorist, restarting the car will result in higher fuel consumption, wear and tear on the alternator,
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 21:09 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - WillDeBeest
Come off it, Sajid! Higher than what - sitting still with the aircon compressor running?
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 22:56 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - sajid
some cars are not used to starting and restarting continously, as it wear the starter motor and place strain on the battery as well, as well as increasing fuel consumption, another step to big brother
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 Wed 25 Mar 15 08:11 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - Fursty Ferret
>> some cars are not used to starting and restarting continously, as it wear the starter
>> motor and place strain on the battery as well, as well as increasing fuel consumption,
>> another step to big brother
>>

Ah, yes, because nowadays you can barely get along the road due to the legions of broken down cars equipped with stop-start.
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 Wed 25 Mar 15 21:06 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - swiss tony
>> Ah, yes, because nowadays you can barely get along the road due to the legions
>> of broken down cars equipped with stop-start.
>>

The Smart car has major issues with stop-start.
Many have required engine rebuilds/new engines....
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 Wed 25 Mar 15 09:59 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - CGNorwich
We are not talking about switching tout engine on and off continuously, the new law is aimed at those who sit in a stationary car with the engine running needlessly. It's just good manners to turn off the engine and reduce pollution if you can. All this "war on motorists" thing is cobblers.
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 21:14 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - Bromptonaut
>> another war on the motorist, restarting the car will result in higher fuel consumption, wear
>> and tear on the alternator,

I wonder if you'd think same if your house or office was in a place motorists habitually let their cars idle for umpteen minutes?
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 Tue 24 Mar 15 22:52 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - Ted

The drug dealer who lives/lived opposite us used to do deals, car window to car window in the small hours. He parked full on the pavement and his customer next to him.

Dealer had some sporty saloon with extremely noisy cooling fans which kept cutting in and out, keeping me awake.

I grassed him up to his Mum and it stopped..........I think it co-incided with him starting a bit of bird in Strangeways !

It was nice when he borrowed a Ferrari off a mate and effed the clutch up big time. He rolled it back off a transporter and we all stood about and laughed as he tried to drive it up the kerb into his driveway....with much smoke and no luck ! Bet that cost !
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 Wed 25 Mar 15 08:02 
 Idle motorists in Westmister to face Ã��à - Cliff Pope
If the engine has not yet warmed up then turning it off and restarting will damage the catalytic converter. Some cars have a feature that automatically prevents restarting in those circumstances.
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