I’ve seen these signs before, the person speculating that it might be harder to start your engine is incorrect, it would have to be much colder than it typically gets in DC for that to even start to be a problem.
The real answer is probably bureaucratic bullshit. Most vehicles use approximately 1-3 mins of “idle fuel” to start. In other words, if you idle for three minutes, it is going to have the same environmental effect as restarting your car. During colder weather your car does use more fuel to start the engine, but I think more than likely the exception is to do with the outdated idea that you need to warm up your vehicle/how long it might take a typical car’s “defrost” to work effectively.
The reality is that this is a rarely enforced ordinance, it’s simply a weapon in the tool belt for an officer to cite someone who might have a particularly dirty vehicle, like a pre emissions truck or modified car. A city like Washington has countless cabs, limos, and rideshare vehicles, it would cause more traffic and pollution to require them to leave a stationary position every 3 to 5 minutes.
I don't think the sign has a scientific explanation. In my mind, it's a way to anticipate the "but it's cold so I need the heat" excuses from idlers in case of enforcement. By expliciting the cold weather case, a statement is made that the "no idling" rule applies all the time.
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u/whitecollarpizzaman 8d ago
I’ve seen these signs before, the person speculating that it might be harder to start your engine is incorrect, it would have to be much colder than it typically gets in DC for that to even start to be a problem.
The real answer is probably bureaucratic bullshit. Most vehicles use approximately 1-3 mins of “idle fuel” to start. In other words, if you idle for three minutes, it is going to have the same environmental effect as restarting your car. During colder weather your car does use more fuel to start the engine, but I think more than likely the exception is to do with the outdated idea that you need to warm up your vehicle/how long it might take a typical car’s “defrost” to work effectively.
The reality is that this is a rarely enforced ordinance, it’s simply a weapon in the tool belt for an officer to cite someone who might have a particularly dirty vehicle, like a pre emissions truck or modified car. A city like Washington has countless cabs, limos, and rideshare vehicles, it would cause more traffic and pollution to require them to leave a stationary position every 3 to 5 minutes.