To ask why people leave their engine running?

[Idontlikecheesecake]

I hate seeing people sitting in the cars, on their phone and the engine is running. Why do it? Do they not realise the climate is in crisis? And it’s wasting their fuel thus wasting their money. I walked through the car park at work today and I must have seen at least 4 cars with their engines running and the drivers were just sat on their phones. I was tempted to knock on some of their windows and tell them to turn the engine off, but I imagine that would be unreasonable (would it???). I genuinely want to know why people do it?

Charging their phone?
Keeping warm if it's cold weather?

And it was a mild day today, so it wouldn’t have been for the heating or air con (I can only assume), but if it had been for either of these, why not just go inside?!

And you could take a charger with you and charge it inside?

Might not have a charger with them except the in car one. I've certainly done it before when I've driven somewhere and realised my phone needs 5 mins worth of charge.

Air conditioning or heating. What is mild to you, might be awful for another person.

I drive an older car and have a dodgy battery but I must admit I thought modern cars would auto off.

My radio packs in after about 10 minutes as eco mode thing kicks in so I switch the car on sometimes so I'm not bored witless waiting.

Some people think that starting the engine uses up more fuel than leaving it running.

Heating/cooling as PPs have said. If I’m in my car it’s generally running.

Usually because they are inconsiderate dicks.

Normally, I think it's an older car that has issues, but the comments about charging phones is probably more likely these days.

Not sure what one could do in this situation, other than maybe asking the owners of the car park to put up signs asking to people to consider not idling their cars with information like X amount of time in a modern car = whatever comparative amount of pollution on average (no ideas on the numbers, not a driver or car owner).

Agree I don't like it. I think it's illegal to have your engine idling? Not sure though.

It drives me mad when parents do it outside the school gates waiting for school to start so they can drop their kids off. I can sort of understand on a freezing day, but they do it throughout the year. The kids waiting outside the school gates are breathing in their fumes. It's so short sighted and selfish

I sometimes like to listen to the end of a song or the end of something i'm listening to on the radio. I'd be pretty pissed off if you knocked on my window to give me a climate change lecture.

I've done it because of a bad battery that I hadn't had the chance to get replaced (turning the engine off would have left me stranded). I've also done it because I've been in 30c heat (outside so God knows in the car) and waiting for one dog to come out of the vets during covid with another dog and two kids in the car. No way was I letting everyone suffer!

Also done it in the freezing cold (can get down into double digit minus figures where I am) for the heat while waiting.

I very rarely drive anywhere im going to wait

Because they have a 6 month old asleep in the car who wakes up when the engine is turned off?? (It's also the only 20 mins of the day they get to themselves)

Because they're dicks mostly.
I feel the cold but I'd never leave my engine on to keep warm.

Get in, turn car on and then decide to check phone before pulling away? 10 mins can go by easily.

It’s non of your business though so I wouldn’t knock on the window.

I left my Range Rover engine running earlier as I had the radio on for my baby and the air con at a certain temp for them. It gets very hot very quickly when you turn it off and the voices of the radio keeps them asleep. Probably not ideal for the environment but I’m sure I make up for it in other ways..

I've just googled... it's an offence and you could get fined.

YANBU. It really irritates me that the parents of children at the schools by my house sit with their engines running whilst waiting for their kids. The pavement is always full of kids.

This drives me up the bloody wall. I live on the "T" of a T junction and the number of drivers who pull up outside my house and just sit there with engine running is ridiculous. They can't all have sleeping babies, no phone battery, or be listening to something vital on the radio (and radios work with the engine off, by the way...) so I can only assume they are all lazy, selfish gits.

I report cars doing it to the council if they're waiting outside school. One secondary always has a trail of waiting cars with engines on.

I wish the traffic wardens would get their act together and saunter down the road at 3pm and issue everyone with tickets.

I dontthink its trafic wardens who have the power to do that, they mainly issue tickets for parking. It will be a police responsibility I think, and sure they've got better things to do.

@BoingBoingyBoing

Usually because they are inconsiderate dicks.

This. My neighbour's son has a noisy boy racer-type car. He sits in it, switches it on, idles noisily for five minutes while he plays with his phone before finally driving off (and lead-footed at that). Twat.