Many of us have had the car running when actually working around it, especially under the bonnet..would we be able to stop a thief who dived intothe car via the drivers door?
At least under the bonnet you could make a grab for the plug leads in a petrol car.
A good reason for all makers to fit in-car de-icing systems like quick clear etc. to remove the need to de ice manually.
The thief obviously doesnt care that if caught, he will now be done for attempted murder rather than Car theft.
Same goes for leaving keys in car or door unlocked at Fuel stations.
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At least under the bonnet you could make a grab for the plug leads in a petrol car.
My petrol engined car has no plug leads. It has coil packs that are directly attached to the plugs, and are all under a cover that is screwed down - as per the set up on many cars nowadays.
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DD
Re Coil packs - no chance of grabbing and pulling off 12 V feed to coil packs then?
Question is could you grab something in engine bay and pull it off to stop car if thief got inside?
Feed to Coils, ECU plug, Throttle unit plug?
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Very unlikely Saltrampen. Everything is hidden behind plastic covers.
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I left the car running to de-ice it this morning. In case anyone should walk up to the house, I left the steering lock on (key in my pocket!).
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It's rather a garbled puzzling report.
The man appears to be quoted as more concerned about identfying the culprit as a "thief" than as someone who nearly killed his wife.
Then the inference is drawn that popping inside for a coffee leaves your car at risk of theft. That apparently was not what happened here, as the woman was deliberately run over while scraping ice.
It reads as an amalgamation of two different stories with one illogical conclusion.
You might just as easily conclude, always stay inside with a cup of coffee while your car is deicing, then you won't get hurt if someone tries to steal it.
There is another current story of a man run over while deliberately interveaning to stop his car being stolen. The lesson from that story is, never intervean, your life is worth more than your car.
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Yes, it's a badly reported story. It is consistently being described as "woman run over by her own car" which puts a very different picture in my mind to, say, "woman run over as thief steals her car". I hope she recovers. I can't comprehend how someone can take something of, comparitively, so little value and seriously injur someone so callously.
JH
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The victim's mum in law was on the radio this evening. Car ran over her, breaking ribs, arms, pelvis and she is now in a managed coma due to her punctured lungs.
Absolutely shocking. At least they have found the car so there should be some DNA evidence in it.
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Does nobody else use De-Icer nowadays ?
I could never see the point of standing there scraping away for 10 mins or so when all you have to do is spray some de-icer on and the windows are clear in seconds.
I now have the luxury of heater front and rear screens, which clear in about 30 seconds, on the Mondeo but still use de-icer on the side windows when necessary (before starting the car and with the keys in my pocket).
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See the thread on using tepid water.... it's cheaper still and does not contain chemicals ;-)
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I'm always afraid the windscreen will explode when I pour warm water on it.
Presumably the thief needed money for drugs? Presumably again he'll be offered "treatment" and a "case worker".
They should be given 60 days solitary to enjoy a spot of cold turkey. Cold turkey never killed anyone. And they should be given it for possession- there are no crack addicts who aren't thieves, unless they have a recording contract.
I know this sounds facetious but our present approach is a lot worse than useless.
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I never said warm water. What comes out of the cold tap is above freezing and therefore will do the job.
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above freezing and therefore will do the job.
er... when was it last really, really cold where you were? There are times when tepid water will just freeze. Nothing more tiresome than simple tapwater in your winscreen washer. Even if it hasn't frozen solid in the tubes causing the pump motor fuse to blow or worse, there is nothing so disheartening as a jet of water - hooray! - that freezes into a wiper-abrading rough skim of ice on contact with the windscreen...
That chemical spray stuff works though. Otherwise you sit in the car with the heater and windscreen fan full on waiting for something to start working. You don't leave the engine idling in the street in Moss Side, or even round here actually, unless you can lock the car. I'm not sure I would do it even then. Probably against a whole slew of byelaws... 'failing to prevent a horse or equivalent from snorting or equivalent unsupervised', things like that.
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I always thought the correct procedure when starting from cold was not to let the engine idle on a rich fuel mixture which increases engine wear, but to drive off so the engine warms up quicker. I always clear all the windows before the key goes anywhere near the ignition
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sorry what I meant was, I actually pour quite hot water on the windscreen, that's why I imagine it going boom! But I still do it. I must get round to actually buying some of that squirty stuff from the pound shop.
and some blue stuff to go in the screen wash. I'm sick of running out of screenwash when the windscreen is totally obscured by slush and lorry muck.
My pre-journey procedures need overhauling.
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Those little fifties wipers when most cars didn't have washers and they didn't always work, some of the best cars I've ever been in had that muddy little arc to look through...
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Ah, the joys of vacuum wipers.... ;-)
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"Nothing more tiresome than simple tapwater in your winscreen washer."
When did I say tap water without screen wash in the washer reservoir? Mine has plenty of screen wash. But tepid/room temperature water poured on the windows will melt the ice. But I'd never have the screen wash too diluted with water or it freezes as soon as it hits the windows again.
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Why not just pour warm water? (Sorry put hot in instead of warm)
Edited by willchow on 04/12/2008 at 00:16
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Actually this thread was on leaving keys in ignition - the warm water thread is elsewhere.
This case of that woman being hit by her own car is just awful. A neighbour once left the car to warm up when loading gifts - car was not there for long. They were just in and out of the house. Lucky for them the insurance paid out for the stolen car but explained the small print would be firmed up.
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rtj is right i worked in insurance (in a dark period in my life) and i remember claims being refused when keys were in ignitions at the time of a theft, no matter if it was for two seconds. It could be even worse now, probably is.
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bananastand, it will definitely be worse. It was about 2-3 years ago for the neighbours but as they were in and out of the house were covered. Insurance paid up and said do that again and you aren't.
This terrible case in the news today had the woman scraping ice off the car though... and forget the car she is very poorly.
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I know she is... I don't to go all Daily Mail on you lot but if they catch the thief, he won't get what he deserves. He needs solitary, with no valium, counselling, methadone, nothing. Just turkey. (not warm)
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Sadly, the cold turkey is off the menu in the big house. It's against their human rights. They can (and have in the past) claimed compensation. We're not talking a couple of quid, either :-(
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Sadly the cold turkey is off the menu in the big house. It's against their human rights. They can (and have in the past) claimed compensation. We're not talking a couple of quid either :-( from todays daily mirror.
three drug addicts have won £11,400 after a court ruled that forcing them to go cold turkey was a breach of there human rights.
each was paid £3,800 because denying them methadone was illegal.
the compensation was part of £50,000 of tax payers cash paid out in one year to seven inmates at hmp winchester.
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'POLICE in St Helens are warning drivers to be vigilant against car thieves over the coming months.
The cold weather means many drivers leave their engine running and unattended while waiting for their cars to defrost and warm up.
Leaving an engine running without a driver in the car is an offence of ?quitting? under the Road Traffic Act and could lead to prosecution.
Officers are advising them not to leave vehicles unlocked or unattended as they are an easy target for car thieves.
DCI ****** *********** said: ?Criminals know that drivers leave their cars unattended to defrost and warm up.
?Car thieves and opportunists are sometimes out and about very early in the mornings, looking for easy pickings.?'
So yes. leaving your engine running is a criminal act but then so is stealing cars.
What will we see, an operation to apprehend those early morning thieves ( on which I suspect there must be some sort of intelligence ) or an operation to fine drivers who leave their engines running ?
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if they catch the thief he won't get what he deserves. He needs solitary with no valium counselling methadone nothing. Just turkey. (not warm)
For the amoral rationalist with nothing and nowhere to live, confinement in a warm establishment with an ample choice of food and no cooking, cleaning or washing up to do is a not unattractive alternative to living rough and scavenging/begging food at this time of year.
And in another three weeks there will probably be warm turkey.
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& a well stocked library; computing facilities; on-tap TV including satellite; access to a gym and chapel; education.
Compare this to living in a hostel for the homeless. I have one near me; they still have to "acquire" £10 a week to pay for their accommodation (the local authority providing the rest). If they get a job, they have to pay the full costs which are not cheap. Where are they supposed to get the money? (Doing odd jobs for the neighbours.)
Then on top they would have to pay gym membership; share a TV; no computer; no library; no chapel.
I know where I'd rather be...
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Tucked up snugly every night with Mr Big? No thanks.
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rtj is right i worked in insurance (in a dark period in my life) and i remember claims being refused when keys were in ignitions at the time of a theft no matter if it was for two seconds. It could be even worse now probably is.
Not what the financial ombudsman says here.
www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombuds...m
The 4 cases were found in the policyholders' favour. "Unattended" must mean a deliberate or reckless leaving of the car, not simply getting out to close a gate or clear a windscreen. Unless this is established the insurance restriction is invalid.
Edited by Cliff Pope on 04/12/2008 at 08:41
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>> Not what the financial ombudsman says here. www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombuds...m The 4 cases were found in the policyholders' favour. ".
The next 3 appeals were rejected, some of them seemed to be a very fine line.
Every time an appeal is upheld - we shouldn't jump for joy. The insurers will simply add it to next year's calulation. In other words, we pick up the bill.
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Does nobody else use De-Icer nowadays ? I could never see the point of standing there scraping away for 10 mins or so when all you have to do is spray some de-icer on and the windows are clear in seconds.
Hmmm.... de-icer is fine for a thin layer of frost, but not much use for half an inch thick frozen sleet (for example).
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