What a rebel!
Today, IÂ flagrantly ignored the recently-updated Highway Code. What a radical I am!
How so, you ask?
“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.”
This morning, I needed to scrape the ice off the car’s windows so I started it up to warm the engine to clear the inside of the windows, turned the heated windscreen and rear window on to de-ice them and then scraped all the ice off the side windows. I then went back indoors to get my passenger. And all the time, I left the engine running.
You see, I reckon that it’s a safer thing to do this and to ensure that when I drive off I have clear windows than to risk driving off peering through little cleared areas of the windscreen and not be able to see other road users and pedestrians approaching from the side or crossing the road.
Maybe it’s just me…