Neutral

lizard · Post by **lizard** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:36 pm

Driving around the A406 North Circular would cause a lot of stop starts in the rush hour

Aethelric · Post by **Aethelric** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:40 pm

francophile1947 wrote:Everybody knows that smooth driving and anticipation saves a lot of fuel. A diesel engined vehicle rolling to a halt, whilst in gear, uses no fuel at all. Therefore, with the correct anticipation, there is no need to switch the engine off, unless you are stopped for a long time.

Of course smooth driving and anticipation are important, and there is no argument about switching the engine off if you think you are going to be stopped for a long time. But what is a long time? 15 minutes?, 5 minutes?, 1 minute, 15 seconds? And often you don't know how long you'll be stopped. Keep the engine running for 5 minutes because you think the traffic will move in the next 20 seconds.
My current default (in addition to good driving practice) is to switch off the engine unless I am SURE I will be moving within 10 seconds. It's actually more pleasant for passengers.
I'll be happier though when I get my bongo set up with the leisure battery then I won't get the radio going of momentarily as I start the engine.

Dave