Yes, you can - and it's actually better to drive it right away than to let it sit idling for a while!
In this post we'll answer the following questions:
What happens if you warm your vehicle up before driving it? According to mechanical theory (and data from this article from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality) the consensus is that when you start your vehicle and let it run, this shortens your motor life and wastes a lot of fuel. Here's an explanation on what happens to your engine, brought to you by The Family Handyman. "The reasoning has to do with how modern internal combustion engines work. By letting your car sit to warm up, it’s actually putting extra fuel into the combustion chamber, which can get onto your cylinder walls. Because gasoline is an excellent solvent, too much on your cylinder walls can dissolve the oil that lubricates your cylinders, leading to shorter life on crucial components." While that will only do damage in small increments at a time, the overall life could be shortened by this practice.
When is it acceptable to warm your vehicle up before driving it? Older vehicles with carbureted motors require a warm-up period before driving, especially in the winter. If you drive an older vehicle which requires warm-up, then it's perfectly acceptable to warm it up. Also, if it's a bitter cold day and your vehicle is covered in snow or ice, we highly recommend that you take safety precautions to clean it off first, even if that necessitates idling your vehicle to melt what needs to be melted for safe operation.
What is the technical way to handle starting your vehicle before driving it? As noted by this FireStone article, they recommend running your vehicle for 30 seconds and then driving. To clarify, we are not saying that idling your vehicle for over 30 seconds is an automatic death-sentence for your vehicle. Most are made with tough machinery and can withstand a lot of abuse. Is it best practice to idle it? Not really... it's estimated we waste $5.9 Billion a year in gas while idling. In some states, it's reportedly illegal to leave your car idling! So there is much to consider while determining if warming up your car is the thing for you to do.
Our assessment is that though it may damage your vehicle in the long run, the wasted MPG's outweigh the wear and tear you may put on your engine by idling for prolonged periods of time. We recommend limiting idle time before driving, though we do understand it is often necessary to idle over 30 seconds before driving it.
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