Jakarta logs the highest stop-start among 78 cities surveyed

Jakarta has the highest number of stops and starts, with an average of 33,240 per driver per year, according to Castrol Magnatec’s Stop-Start Index. Castrol gathered the data for its Stop-Start Index from users of TomTom navigation devices, which were shared anonymously. Castrol then catalogued the data on traffic conditions in 78 cities, which did not include India or Vietnam.  The company measured the average stops and starts made per kilometre in each city, and multiplied that by the average distance driven per year.

Close behind Jakarta are Istanbul, Turkey and Mexico City, Mexico.

The index, which can be seen at http://magnatec.castrol.com/featured/stop-start-index.html, categorises the cities into green, amber and red, corresponding to moderate, heavy and severe levels of stop-start driving. For each city or region listed, it shows the average number of stop-starts per year per driver, as well the percentage of travel time spent idling. The cities where cars spent the most time idling, according to the survey, are Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand.

Stop-start can create microscopic wear of critical engine parts, Castrol said.