To ask them to switch their engine off?

[lookingforthecorkscrew]

A van has been idling outside my house for 20 minutes. It’s driving me a bit bonkers. Can I go outside and tell them that a) they’re contributing to the shit air quality in our neighbourhood b) they are dicks?

No?

I've had this a few times. They're usually on phones / texting. Engine on to keep warm.

Go and do it

Let us know what they say

They probably need to run engine for heating as it's bloody freezing out.

They will freeze without the hearing though.

Technically it's a criminal offence to be using your phone while the engine is running. Isn't it? Even with the handbrake on?

Is idling not an offence? (I may have imagined that). You should go tell them, they may not know idling causes the worst kind of car pollution (pretty sure I didn’t make that bit up).

We used to live opposite a bus stop that was the end of the route and buses used to drop off and wait there with the engine running until the next journey started. At night this could be 20 mins! Drove us nuts.

Idling is an offence in my London borough with a FPN. Our air quality is shocking.

It's so infuriating, but if they haven't got loud music or phone on loud speaker, I probably wouldn't. I feel so sorry for people living near schools where cars parks ridiculously early then keep the engine on for half an hour (plus music, plus phone!) every single day, sometimes twice a day.

I am pretty sure it's not even legal, but no one cares unfortunately.

Even better OP, go out there and perform a citizens arrest!

Say your about to have a delivery so can they mice

• move not mice

I hate this. My house growing up was right next to a road where you would queue for the car ferry. You could see exactly how far away the ferry was, there were signs everywhere asking for engines to be turned off. Yet almost everyone would just keep their engines running while they waited. I wanted to push them in the river.

Annoying but I doubt they’re sitting outside in a van past 9 pm for the fun of it and would be freezing without the heating

If you are my neighbour in wales then I apologise, it wasn’t a can and DH was warming up the car before taking 7 year old to out of hours doctor.

I don’t live in Wales. I live in a London borough with a severe air pollution problem!

This time last year I was stuck on a closed motorway where the cars did not move an inch for 2 hours. Someone a few cars away had their engine running the whole time!

20 minutes is too much!

What did you do OP?

You can go out and try if you want, but they will be absolutely freezing! They obviously need to be there for some reason, surely you can't expect them to freeze in this weather when there is an option not to.

shame there's nothing you can do, but the temperature is no valid excuse to bother the neighbourhood and break the law (even if the fine won't be more than £80)

Warming up your car to allow you to see something is not quite the same