Hello everyone, for years I thought that clutch safety switches are a relatively useless and somewhat annoying "feature". I understand that if someone accidental leaves the transmission in gear and tries to crank the engine, the vehicle will jump forwards/backwards if the brakes or parking brake isn't applied and could cause injury or damage, although the likelihood of any incident resulting in severe injury or significant property damage is arguably pretty low. Forcing someone to disengage the clutch to crank the engine almost eliminates the possibility of the vehicle moving while cranking.
However, my big problem with that design is that it is IMO not effective at accomplishing it's intended purpose. Here's why: Checking to make sure the trans is in neutral before cranking the engine is obviously good practice. However, sometimes people forget. But if someone forgot to make sure the trans is in neutral before cranking the engine, do you think the odds of them remembering to make sure the trans is in neutral after starting the engine before releasing the clutch is any better? As many people as I have seen and heard of who pressed the clutch to start the engine and promptly released the clutch without realizing the trans is still in gear, I don't think so.
My other problem with that design is it is just plain inconvenient. Who wants to press the clutch every time they start the engine? I know it's not usually a big deal, but it's still an unnecessary inconvenience for IMO not much or any benefit. This is especially true when the passenger of the vehicle needs to start the engine for heat or AC when the driver isn't currently in the vehicle for whatever reason. I personally know several people who have had this problem at some point.
In my opinion, a better, more user friendly, and more effective method of preventing the vehicle from being started in gear would be for the manufacturers to implement a neutral safety switch like on automatic transmissions. That would virtually eliminate the possibility of the vehicle moving when started until the driver actually puts the trans in gear and releases the clutch rather than simply until they carelessly release the clutch as soon as the engine starts. This solution would also have the advantage of working with remote starts unlike the clutch safety switch, which is typically simply bypassed when a remote start is installed. Being able to start the engine from the passenger seat or without getting in the car would be a benefit too.
If anyone disagrees or has other thoughts, please let us know!
However, my big problem with that design is that it is IMO not effective at accomplishing it's intended purpose. Here's why: Checking to make sure the trans is in neutral before cranking the engine is obviously good practice. However, sometimes people forget. But if someone forgot to make sure the trans is in neutral before cranking the engine, do you think the odds of them remembering to make sure the trans is in neutral after starting the engine before releasing the clutch is any better? As many people as I have seen and heard of who pressed the clutch to start the engine and promptly released the clutch without realizing the trans is still in gear, I don't think so.
My other problem with that design is it is just plain inconvenient. Who wants to press the clutch every time they start the engine? I know it's not usually a big deal, but it's still an unnecessary inconvenience for IMO not much or any benefit. This is especially true when the passenger of the vehicle needs to start the engine for heat or AC when the driver isn't currently in the vehicle for whatever reason. I personally know several people who have had this problem at some point.
In my opinion, a better, more user friendly, and more effective method of preventing the vehicle from being started in gear would be for the manufacturers to implement a neutral safety switch like on automatic transmissions. That would virtually eliminate the possibility of the vehicle moving when started until the driver actually puts the trans in gear and releases the clutch rather than simply until they carelessly release the clutch as soon as the engine starts. This solution would also have the advantage of working with remote starts unlike the clutch safety switch, which is typically simply bypassed when a remote start is installed. Being able to start the engine from the passenger seat or without getting in the car would be a benefit too.
If anyone disagrees or has other thoughts, please let us know!