Posted on 01/09/2017 12:28:12 PM PST by nickcarraway
Police often warn car owners to not leave their cars unattended while warming them up on the driveway.
Officials say leaving your car running is an open invitation for thieves who want to make a quick getaway.
But it wasn’t thieves who targeted Taylor Trupiano’s vehicle.
Trupiano, a Michigan resident, said many people have to warm up their cars for several minutes in the brutal Michigan winter.
However, he didn’t know that he would be fined for it.
After leaving his car running in the driveway for several minutes, he came outside to find a ticket on his windshield.
The Roseville Police Department gave Trupiano a $128 fine for leaving the keys in the ignition with the motor running and no one around.
WXYZ reports that there is no state law against leaving your car running, but several cities have ordinances against the practice.
“Hi, I’m from the government. I see you have money in your pocket. Give it to me.”
That actually happened to a neighbor in New Orleans. True story.
He owned rental property, and was painting and repairing damage done by an evicted tenant—holes punched in walls, doors yanked off hinges, etc.
He was accosted by an inspector from the notoriously corrupt Code Enforcement, who told him, falsely, that he needed a $100 permit to do routine maintenance.
The inspector offered to “take care of it” for him if the landlord handed over the $100. The landlord said he didn’t have it right then, and would go downtown later.
The inspector says, “well, how much you got on you right now?”
Landlord says, “I believe I got about $40 in my wallet.”
Inspector says, “I’ll take that.”
Landlord balked, saying that didn’t sound right. So inspector, bluffing, says, “well, ok, I’ll just cite you, and that’ll cost you $100 downtown. I’m tryin’ to work with you here.” So the landlord hands over his $40.
This stuff was commonplace in NOLA.
. . . and, of course, fill the garage with Carbon Monoxide. . .
No because your keys would not be in the ignition.
I’ve known since I took driver’s ed c. 1960 not to leave a car that’s running. Not only could it be stolen, it could become engaged, roll down the driveway, etc., etc., etc. Man needs a touch of common sense. $128 not too much to pay for that lesson.
Not true, correct viscosity oil just makes the starter's job easier, and causes the oil to flow and pump better (maybe shortening required warmup) but does not replace warmup. You want to wait until wear parts are fully coated with oil. Additionally, expansion/contraction issues in the newer engines are not as acute as previously but still exist.
It might surprise you to know that a car with the engine not running can still roll down the driveway. lol
I said leave the garage partially open, I presume most would figure that was for the carbon monoxide.
Nowhere near as likely. I was once parked at a 7-11, when a big, beautiful, very expensive Mercedes pulled in next to me, guy ran in for his morning coffee and guess what? His car started rolling out into rush hour traffic. Only the slightest grade to the 7-11 lot. Fortunately for him, I was able to hop out of my car, jump into his, and use the brake before it got to the road, and no one else was coming into the parking lot. He could have faced a very big cost, not only in damage to his own car, but possible law suits had it hit another. All for one lazy moment.
“The state of Michigan, or all other states, have no jurisdiction for what he does with his car in his own driveway. Its private property.”
Yes, in a perfect world - but people have gotten DUIs in their driveway...without every leaving their property. In one case the car had its wheels off and was on blocks (neighbor complained).
We don’t live in a perfect world...many laws are written and applied until someone has enough money to fight it up the chain of courts.
“...but I’ve never heard of an idling vehicle with a manual transmission being stolen.”
Daa, it’s because the ‘youths’ don’t know how to drive sticks anymore.
I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum in South Texas. I run mine to keep the air conditioner plus I do quite a bit of night fishing and use an invert er to run lights.
Grandpa had a 1954 Jaguar 12 cylinder sports car that had a hookup to heat the engine block on cold nights for normal startup temperatures. This would not be “energy efficient” certainly anymore.
On the other hand mark knopfler has a tune about the Albion Border Reiver truck (English make) that had no heater in it— imagine the run in N. Scotland in February. Another tune- “cleaning my gun”— references needing to start a fire under the tanks in N. Ireland to be able to start them— so danged cold. This is known to ice road truckers, though one has to be careful not to ingnite surface oil and grease.
Know exactly where you mean— used to have to go to Vail and Aspen in February every year (and could not expense flying in direct, so had to take a rental 4X4 from Denver (through the tunnel... minus 17 and then some, ice sand and salt(?) on the interstate with crazed illegals blowing by me at 80 mph plus). Odd thing— most of the people who work in Aspen/Vail, cannot afford to live there and they commute from trailer parks some 60 plus miles away.
Road and Track and Popular Mechanics are BOTH shills for the AlGore Church of Climate Panic-Mongering. I take their advice like I listen to Moby: not at all!
regarding warming your engine.
I noticed a bit of cognitive dissonance in those articles, as in
Warming the engine was good practice when carburetors were in use because they didn’t do as good a job vaporizing the fuel as fuel injection, the fuel droplets then washed oil off the cylinder walls.
Yet further along they say that longer idling with fuel injection can wash the oil off the cylinder walls. Which is it?
I was a mechanic for over 20 years, and did all my own servicing and repair on my vehicles as well, continuing for years after that. My experiences and work caused me to follow the practices below.
At freezing and below, I warm the car for a minimum of a minute before GENTLY driving away. Below -10, the block heater is plugged in, and the car gets at least 5 minutes. Once again, I drive away very gently until all the car’s pieces and parts have loosened up.
JMHO, YMMV
We have these stupid ordinances here in Colorado, too.
First they justify it by saying it’s to prevent auto theft.
Then when people used Viper alarm/start systems which prevents the vehicle from driving without the key inserted, they say it’s for pollution reasons.
Jackasses all!
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