lingering subfreezing temperatures<\/a>, Texans have been hit hard with wintry conditions. But leaving your car running in order to warm it up may cost more than gas money: The habit can earn you a Class C misdemeanor and a $500 ticket.<\/p>\nWhat is \u201cpuffing,\u201d and why is it illegal in Texas? Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re guilty of puffing if you leave a car running and unattended, even if it’s in your own driveway.<\/p>\n
Violating the 1995 code is a Class C misdemeanor, a criminal offense that can include a fine of up to $500.<\/p>\n
The term \u201cpuffing\u201d references the puffs of exhaust or steam that can be seen rolling from a car\u2019s tailpipe when idling in cold weather.<\/p>\n
The Texas anti-puffing law is generally intended to prevent auto thefts, which are made easier when drivers pre-start their cars.<\/p>\n
While most insurance plans with comprehensive coverage will cover a stolen vehicle in such situations, some companies won\u2019t. However, companies may investigate whether the theft occurred due to negligence or fraud.<\/p>\n
Puffing also wastes fuel and risks damaging the engine if done repeatedly\u00a0\u2014 another reason drivers shouldn\u2019t make a habit out of it.<\/p>\n
The Texas law does make an exception for vehicles with the remote-start feature. However, this is only granted if it doesn\u2019t require a key to be in the ignition and doesn\u2019t allow the vehicle to drive without the key physically present within it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s be honest \u2014 who hasn\u2019t pre-started their car to let it warm up before traveling in cold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139886,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,25852,57511,5947,27,12396,57850],"class_list":{"0":"post-139885","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news","11":"tag-cold-weather","12":"tag-extreme-cold","13":"tag-legal","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-winter","16":"tag-winter-weather-freeze-cold"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}