diff --git a/src/driver/shutdown_count.cpp b/src/driver/shutdown_count.cpp
index aced910e9..c885223f3 100644
--- a/src/driver/shutdown_count.cpp
+++ b/src/driver/shutdown_count.cpp
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 SHTDCNT::SHTDCNT()
 	: configfile('\t')
 {
+	thread_running = false;
 }
 
 SHTDCNT::~SHTDCNT()