Fuck Cars
A place to discuss problems of car centric infrastructure or how it hurts us all. Let's explore the bad world of Cars!
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My grandpa drove a semi truck;
The A/C was part of it, some truck stops even had a thing called “IdleAir” that was like a window unit so you didn’t have to leave your engine running. For semis nobody wants to sleep in a sunbaked box with no air.
But according to him, for the really big engines, turning it off and on causes more wear and tear than leaving it running. So back in the day when diesel was still very cheap compared to gas they all got in the habit of leaving it on all the time.
Even the cops leave their cars on all the time where I am from.
Cops will leave their engines running because they may have to go into service at a moment notice. Not sure if I entirely agree the half second to fire up is going to slow their response considerably, but I'd error on the side of an exception for emergency equipment.
mmmm.. I don't think this is the crux. They need power for their devices - the computer and radio gear foremost, but there's a lot of other bits and gadgets. Our local PD has been deploying hybrids and phev's for this reason - they can sit all day and still have juice to do pursuit etc. one thing they don't like is the auto-cutoff that's present in a lot of ICE vehicles nowadays because that lag is problematic for their electronic systems and ability to quickly pursue.
They don’t leave firetrucks running…
They do at the scene of the fire, and EMS leaves their ambulances running on scene as well. Cops leave their cars running while out and about, and usually off if they're parked at the station.
More to the original point though, I've never seen cop cars, fire trucks, or ambulances idling at their respective stations. Not a clue what SOOP sees in his area.
I'm fine with on-scene idling because the expectation is that emergency services need to be fast and reliable. (Also I'm pretty sure that fire trucks, the big ones anyway, have a lot of extra machinery that needs to be powered)
While I certainly agree with your overall point, I'd guess that firefighters have someone who's job it is to start the engine/truck while their fellows are donning their gear.
Let’s be honest though; Push-to-start exists. There is zero reason they can afford all their SWAT bullshit and can’t afford to make a car that auto starts when whoever is carrying the fob gets in.
Not that turning a key takes any longer than pushing a button
Also, fire trucks don't have a key to start. You set one knob to on and twist the starter knob.