To think that people who leave their car engine on at supermarket/schoolrun/etc. are a bunch of twankers

[wasabisaucefortuna]

It's a waste of money, environmentally unfriendly and inconsiderate. Fair enough if it is minus 10 but not now, let alone in sommer! Why on earth would you do that???

I did it yesterday, it was -2 and I was cold.

Roll on the personal carbon footprint - I've not flown in 6 years and I think I care about the environment

Still don't want to be cold in the car though.

YANBU. I have many such twankers sitting in their cars outside my house, belching fumes through my windows, their engines making my walls vibrate, while they wait to pick up their kids from the nearby school.

I don't understand your reference to Supermarkets - when do they leave the engine running.

On school pick up it will be cheaper not to turn off if waiting a minute or two because starting up a car is very ineffecient.

It is a myth that starting a car up again is more expensive. Ask anyone who knows about cars. Might have been the case for cars 30 years ago but not nowardays!

And why have the car window down when it is so cold?

Re supermarkets, we get that a lot where I live - people sitting in running car. Partners just "popped" in to do the weekly shopping, car left running for up to 30 minutes...

YANBU
the noise of an idling engine makes me feel stabby. It's a fact that if you idle for more than ten seconds you use more fuel than you would have turning the engine off and on again. Yah.

Eric with you on the noise making me feel stabby.

I agree it is unnecessary. But I used to do it when we had an old car and I was worried that it might not start again! Once sat in a stationery traffic jam for over an hour with the engine running for this reason. People behind asked us to turn it off but we explained that if we did there was a 50/50 chance as to whether it would start again - so sorry no we couldn't.

Yanbu neighbour does this below my window, he goes back inside his house and leaves it running for 10 mins. Wish someone would pinch his car. Sooo annoying and one of my pet hates.

In our hefty diesel it is better on fuel efficiency and engine wear and tear to keep it running if only for a couple of minutes.

We had a neighbour who would go off to work but start his wife's car at the same time to warm it up and it would be left running until she trotted out 20 minutes or so later. So bloody selfish.