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?

Ivykaty, you gave an example of a person getting photographed using their phone whilst driving in traffic. That is clearly different to what the op is talking about which is people sitting in parked cars in car parks. They are not driving, and they are not on the public Highway. So not illegal, no.

can you please show me a link that says it’s legal to be on the phone with the engine running in a car park - thanks

Idling cars has such a miniscule environmental effect compared to many other things which people don't think about.

For example, my workplace waste loads of diesel through wasted journeys. Typically a customer puts black bags in the recycling and the recycling truck can't take it, so the general waste truck has to make a second journey - three visits to collect what could've been collected in the first had the GW driver known the recycling was contaminated (and this is in trucks that probably do 5mpg).

We also end up sending tons upon tons of recyclables to landfill each week. All it takes is one clever customer to hide the sloppy food waste under a layer of cardboard did that the driver can't see it until he tips the container - the whole truckload is then contaminated.

Just googled. Most waste trucks actually achieve 2.5-4.5 mpg. 😯

Wakes DS from a nap if I turn the engine off

When I've done it, it's because my ropy car might not start again if I switch it off.

This drives me nuts. I particularly hate it when I'm sat at cricket matches enjoying a bit of peace and people park up next to me and have their engine running for 3 hours as someone did last week. It's noisy and creates unnecessary fumes. In fairness, less of an issue at cricket but more so when parents reversed right up to the fence by the hockey astro so their exhausts vented into the area the kids are playing.
I appreciate it's me being intolerant, it doesn't bother my husband at all. I could cope with 15 mins of warming up or cooling down the car but not hours on end.

Oh, and there have been other times when my car was in the habit of emitting a gush of smoke when it started up. If say I was waiting to pick my teen up, and there were people about, I would try to avoid subjecting them to that by leaving the engine running.

I do, however, find it amusing when people don't realise how loudly they're broadcasting their phone calls by using the car hands free. I've heard some classics.

Environmental issues aside, it's a prolonged and irritating noise. One of my neighbour's stepdaughter's would be dropped off by her bf - except they'd drive into the courtyard and have the engine idling for twenty, thirty minutes; it was a hugely annoying noise and made the windows vibrate. When my dad was in his last few months and kept awake by it, I went outside to ask them to stop - I was neither 'gentle' not 'polite' but not shitty. They were shitty because they were shits. Happily, SD neighbour intervened on my side and the hand shandies goodnight kisses stopped.

I do this quite often as my toddler wakes up as soon as the engine goes off and always has. So if it's before she's had a long enough sleep I try and enjoy the 10 mins of the day I get to myself.

I'd be fuming if someone knocked on my window and woke her up.