‘Puffers’ break state law, invite car thieves

Turning on your car’s engine and then going back into the house for a few minutes to let it warm up is not just bad for gas mileage and the environment.

It’s offering your car up to a thief on a silver platter.

And it’s illegal.

There’s even a name for vehicles that are left running by themselves. They’re called “puffers.”

Nearly two-thirds of the people who responded to a recent poll by the PEMCO insurance company — 63 percent — said they crank up their car’s engine and heater to warm up their windshields before scraping off any ice, frost or snow.

This is OK, as far as state law is concerned, if you stay with your vehicle. If you don’t, it’s not.

“No person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle shall permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake thereon,” according to the law (RCW 46.61.600).

Based on the remainder of the text, the law appears geared toward preventing cars from rolling and running into things. Still, there’s another very good reason for staying with your vehicle.

“Even if you leave your car unattended for just a few minutes, that’s plenty of time for a thief to break in and drive away,” PEMCO spokesman Jon Osterberg said.

On a cold morning in 2005 in Lynnwood, Charles Williamson left his $59,000 GMC Yukon Denali running in the driveway.

“I went in the house to get some stuff for two minutes, not even that,” he told The Herald the next day. “I heard a noise, and when I came out, my car was going up the road.”

Williamson got his Denali back and an arrest was made. Still, five other vehicles in the area were stolen in the same manner on the same morning.

Most experts now say engine idling, in the vast majority of cases, does nothing to warm up a car or to protect its engine compared with stopping and restarting. It only serves to waste gas and pollute the air.

Massachusetts has an anti-idling law. It sets the limit at a forgiving five minutes.

It does list idling to help melt snow or ice on the windshield as a legitimate exception to the rule.

“It’s a safety problem if you cannot see where you’re going and if the windshield is not warm enough to melt snow and freezing rain while driving,” according to a state of Massachusetts summary of its law.

Still, the summary adds, “Our common sense also tells us that heaters and air conditioning units almost always bring the vehicle’s interior into a comfortable range in a short time. We also know that heaters and air conditioning units work faster when the vehicle is being driven, not when it is left idling.”

Usually, in Western Washington, it doesn’t take much more than a minute or two to heat up the car enough to loosen up the ice or frost.

The moral of the story is, if you must run the engine to scrape the windows, keep it to a minimum and stay with your car — or it may not be yours much longer.

Don Little of Lake Stevens writes: The intersection at 103rd Avenue SE and New Bunk Foss Road needs attention. To make a left turn off of 103rd Avenue onto New Bunk Foss Road you have to pull quite far into the intersection due to the brush on the northwest corner blocking your view of the traffic going east.

Snohomish County engineer Owen Carter replies: We have looked at the intersection of 103rd Avenue SE and New Bunk Foss Road and determined that the sight distance is greater than standard.

However, we believe additional brush cutting would be a benefit at this location. Therefore, I put in a work order request to get additional brush cutting at this location. The Snohomish County road maintenance department has a service request program where the public may report this type of information by calling 425-388-7500 or by emailing us at Contact.PWRM@snoco.org. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

E-mail us at stsmarts@heraldnet.com. Please include your city of residence.

Look for updates on our Street Smarts blog at www.heraldnet.com/streetsmarts.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.