# Do you turn off your car at stop lights? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169 "2012-06-14T19:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/41 "2012-06-15T15:27:27Z")
My car is a stick shift. It’s much more of a pain with an automatic, for me. I have never been in nor observed any situation from which someone could have escaped if their car had not been turned off. When a truck is skidding toward and you are idling as opposed to turned off, do you really imagine that you are going to be able to get out of the way? Hard to believe. This is sort of like the people who refuse to wear seatbelts because they might be trapped in the car if they happened to drive into a lake. My authorities for the efficacy and worthwhilosity of turning off your engine instead of idling are the Tappet Brothers. A slow count to six was their delineation of when it started to become useful. They also stated that it would not add much wear to a modern starter (as in a post above). I believe – haven’t checked – that it is illegal in California to turn off your engine in a situation in which you “ought to be moving” such as stop and go traffic. But long stoplights, no. I get about 10 mpg over EPA with my Honda Fit, in both city and highway driving. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/42 "2012-06-15T15:28:57Z")
> [@Hairy\_Bob](#): > > Were you not taught to apply the handbrake every time you come to a complete stop?. No. Not even in driver’s ed class. Never heard of this before. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/43 "2012-06-15T15:32:08Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I believe the handbrake on at stops is a British/European thing. Many vehicles in the U.S. don’t have “handbrakes”- they have an extra pedal to the left of the brake or clutch pedal. Makes it nearly impossible to use at a stop in my 5 speed manual transmission truck. Many cars in the U.S. have a handbrake. I have a handbrake, and I’ve had handbrakes in the past, but I was never taught to put in on every complete stop. Maybe, as you say, it’s a European thing. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/44 "2012-06-15T15:40:55Z")
I’ve used the handbrake (the hand operated parking brake) when driving a manual transmission and starting off on a hill. It is a good way to prevent rollback. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/45 "2012-06-15T15:46:25Z")
> [@Hairy\_Bob](#): > > Yes, and again more recently when I took my heavy goods license. My instructor taught me to use the hill start procedure every time you start from stationary, that way when you need to do an actual hill start it’s the same as every other time and is no big deal. There is no chance of the vehicle rolling back if you hold the clutch at the biting point whilst you release the handbrake. > I don’t always use the handbrake, if I’m stopping briefly I’ll just hold it on the footbrake but generally speaking it’s handbrake on and in neutral, or in first if I’ve stopped the engine. Okay, so you’re talking about a manual transmission. I’ve always driven automatics, where rolling back isn’t usually an issue. It’s only become an issue now that I have a hybrid, which is automatic (CVT, actually) but has the rolling back issue because of the engine auto-off feature. I don’t think the handbrake would be a solution in my case. It’s possible that it won’t even restart with the handbrake on. If it does, since the car never goes out of drive, when the engine restarts it would try to move with the handbrake on. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/46 "2012-06-15T16:00:45Z")
I stopped at work the other day to sign some papers. I thought I’d run in and be out in under a minute, so I never bothered to shut off my car. One thing led to another and I ended up in the building for 2 hours. When I left, I was stunned to see my car running. Surprisingly, my gas tank was around 1/4 full, which is about what I thought I’d started the day with. ---
**Author:** ![Rudiger\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rudiger\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rudiger_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/47 "2012-06-15T20:12:09Z")
For those that shut off their engines (in automatics), do you put the transmission in park? Or put it in neutral and keep your foot on the brake? I wonder if starting their car and shifting into drive is what makes the people in front of me take so long to actually move. Nah, it’s probably because driving is the 3rd most important thing they’re doing at the moment… As for applying the handbrake at every stop, doesn’t this make an already somewhat complicated process (starting from a stop in a manual transmission car) much more complicated? It seems unnecessary if you have your foot on the brake at all times. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/48 "2012-06-15T20:40:11Z")
> [@whc.03grady](#): > > Morgenstern FTW! 164 total posts in 13 years…you must \*really \*think \*\*Morgenstern \*\*had it right! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/49 "2012-06-15T21:07:59Z")
The only time I have ever considered turning my vehicle off while stopped in traffic is while waiting for a train to pass, but I’m always too optimistic that the next rail car will be the last. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/50 "2012-06-16T19:12:06Z")
> [@Lionne](#): > > 164 total posts in 13 years…you must \*really \*think \*\*Morgenstern \*\*had it right! 🙂 Quality over quantity. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/51 "2012-06-16T20:01:21Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Why not just use the pedal brakes? Why the hand brake? It’s safer, especially in an accident. Your foot can’t slip off the brake pedal. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169/52 "2012-06-20T18:51:06Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > It’s safer, especially in an accident. Your foot can’t slip off the brake pedal. Beyond that, it’s less wear on the gearbox and brakes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-car-at-stop-lights/625169.md?page=2)