If you ask any modern car driver about the most irritating feature in their car, most likely they’ll say that it’s the automatic start-stop system. This system shuts off the engine when a vehicle comes to a halt. Although this feature was designed to make sure that the vehicle saves fuel, it ends up only annoying the car driver. Now, taking a huge step, the United States of America President Donald Trump and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Administrator Lee Zeldin have announced that they will be ending the federal push behind engine start-stop systems.
Donald Trump wants to end start-stop systems in cars
During a recent interview, Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, stated, “For example, under the endangerment finding, they forced the hated start-stop feature onto American consumers, which unnecessarily shuts off a car’s engine when you stop at a red light. In other words, the engine goes off.” He added, “This action will save American consumers trillions of dollars and will lower the average cost of a new vehicle by close to $3,000.”
Meanwhile, Lee Zeldin, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, also added that start-stop systems are “almost universally despised.” Apart from this, Zeldin also highlighted that the “Obama switch” (sarcasm) elimination will help in saving over $2,400 for every family per vehicle. Overall, the removal of the start-stop system will save American families a total of over $1.3 trillion.
What is engine start-stop technology?
Although most people know what engine start-stop technology is, for those who may still not be aware of it, the engine start-stop system automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle stops. It then restarts the engine when the clutch is pressed in a manual vehicle, and the brake is released or the accelerator is pressed in an automatic vehicle.
This system primarily exists to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. As engines run inefficiently at idle, they produce higher nitrogen dioxide and increased localised pollution. Over the years, urban air-quality studies have shown high pollution around heavy idling traffic, and they have also shown that the air improves when idling is reduced.
Do cars legally need to have engine start-stop?
Presently, in India and across the world, engine start-stop systems are not legally mandatory. However, they help manufacturers meet their emission targets, as emissions compliance frameworks incentivise their use. In order to ban start-stop systems, the US government will have to either drastically lower the emission standards, or a new law must be passed that bans the use of this system.
What makes this situation more interesting is that, even though this system is not liked by most people, regulators may need to create new regulations to eliminate it. However, such a new rule would most likely face legal challenges.
Why do people hate start-stop systems so much?
Even though engine start-stop systems do help with reducing emissions and saving fuel, they are hated by most drivers due to the lag and delay. There is a noticeable pause when restarting the vehicle, and it becomes particularly worse in older diesel-engined vehicles. It also feels a bit unsafe at intersections. Additionally, the activation of this system is very inconsistent.
Apart from these issues, the system also shuts off air conditioning or weakens it, which makes occupants inside a vehicle uncomfortable. Lastly, it also feels particularly frustrating in dense traffic and makes a lot of drivers anxious as well.
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