It’s Illegal to Warm Up Your Car in Your Own Driveway in Texas
Did you know it's technically illegal to leave your car warming up in your driveaway if you don't meet a very specific requirement?
According to Texas' Transporation Code, it's illegal to leave a car unattended without stopping the engine, locking the ignition, and removing the key from the ignition.
There's always an exception though, right? If you have a remote starter that requires a key be placed in the ignition or physically present in the vehicle before it can be operated, you're in the all-clear.
The point of the law is to prevent car thefts, and while the odds of you being cited for leaving your car idling are low, it's still a good idea to keep an eye on your car at all times if you're going to leave it running to warm up. Thieves watch for signs of unattended cars with the keys in the ignition, and next thing you know your stuff's missing or you're without a car.
Let's look at some numbers provided by the Insurance Information Institute. These are 2019 numbers, as we are waiting for 2020 numbers. Overall, about 6.4 billion dollars were lost to vehicle thefts in the U.S. The average dollars loss per vehicle was just under 9 thousand dollars.
The numbers don't lie. The laws are there for a reason. Lock it or lose it!
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