A report by the Energy Saving Trust has shown that motorists in our fair capital waste over £60m of fuel and contribute more than 100 million kg of CO2 a year as a result of unnecessary idling.
For those lucky drivers who own a car equipped with start stop technology, this obviously doesn’t apply but motorists without the fuel saving tech could save a packet in fuel by just turning off.
Many motorists are not be aware that under rule 123 of the highway code your engine must not be left idling unnecessarily.
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.
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Tim Anderson, Senior Knowledge Manager at the Energy Saving Trust, believes the issue should be in the spotlight.
“Turning off engines when it is anticipated that you will be stationary for more than a minute creates a number of benefits by reducing pollution and, by using less fuel, it also saves money,” said Tim.
“This small, individual step can collectively make a significant difference and help improve life for everyone in London.”
Reducing idling is just one of the many Hypermiling and fuel saving tips on our Hypermiling techniques page.
