To tell the woman in the car in front to turn her engine off?

[Niceshotdoc]

Sat in the car waiting for DS. Residential street. Woman in front has been idling her car for the past 10 minutes. Presumably for the air con. We're right next to peoples gardens. I really want her to turn it off. So selfish. Shall I?

Please do! I used to live next to a school in a small terrace house. No front garden so cars were directly outside my door and used to sit with the engine running. My living room would be out of bounds. Some people are very selfish.

Of course there’ll be a few instances where idling the engine is understandable and not purely selfish twattery. But when it’s at least half the cars on the school run doing it, I’m pretty sure it’s a result of most people prioritising listening to the radio and running the heat / air con over the health of other people’s children & the impending climate disaster.

This thread is exactly why our planet is knackered. All of you saying "I can do what I want in my own car" are ignorant and selfish. I can pour engine oil in rivers, but I don't. Switching your engine off is no effort whatsoever, and if it gets hot you can put the windows down. Go to America and see how wasteful they are with stuff like this, and you'll see what our country is turning into

To those who say it's none of your business, it is my business if you running your engine is ruining the air quality where I live. I'd be prepared to make a nuisance of myself telling you so and would not be intimidated by your selfishness and entitlement.

yes, ask them to turn it off. nobody should sit outside a school - or anywhere - for any length of time with the engine running.

Wow! I'm at all the thoughtless and selfish mumsnetters who think it is OK to sit with the engine idling for 10 minutes.

What planet are they on?

1. It's selfish
2. it's a waste of fuel
3. It's bad for the environment
4. It's expensive
5. It's illegal
6. It isn't even hot today

I wouldn't be asking anyone to turn their engine off, but I would judge the driver.

How Petty

Some of these responses are just awful. I worked in drug discovery for lung cancer in the past, and particulates are classified as a carcinogen. They are also associated with various other diseases including asthma and cardiovascular diseases. My children’s school has a ‘no idling’ policy in the car park because we care about what our children are breathing in.

Some seriously petulant and selfish people here, who just go around telling everyone who politely asks them something to 'fuck off'.

@mummyh2016 do you care about your children's lungs?

If I was having a hot flush and someone told me to turn off the engine for the AC I’d tear them a new one.

I always want to tell idling drivers to turn their engines off but always chicken out. It is so selfish (not to mention illegal). And they’re sitting in their own filth as pollution is 7 times higher inside the car than outside. I also can’t understand why they do it when the price of petrol is so high?

Some might argue that they want their heat/air conditioning (not a valid excuse in my book — open your window and dress for the weather) but last week I walked past a mum idling outside a school last week who was sitting in a convertible with the top down. Paying good money to air condition the outside world 🤦🏼‍♀️ (all the while poisoning everyone who walks past).

@Deidretheelf I've had hot flushes, though thankfully I'm out the other side of it now. I don't think my need for comfort trumps an asthmatic child's need to breath ffs.

One thing I’d caution you OP, if you go around handing out diktats to total strangers you ARE eventually going to run into someone who who loses the plot at you and get into an unpleasant situation. Also people who have genuine reasons for doing what they’re doing and end up being embarrassed. I’d question if it’s worth it.

The amount of times my poor mother used to be accosted for using a disabled space when able bodied. The people doing it didn’t half feel like twats when she picked up my Dad who had advanced MS and could barely walk a few feet.

How do you feel about not being allowed to talk on your phone or drink a bottle of wine as you drive?

I mean, how dare anyone tell you what to do in your own car, right?

You should be allowed to swig from a wine bottle and chat on your phone since you know, you're inside your own car. How dare anyone tell you otherwise.

The air quality around schools is terrible because of parents doing this. The air quality inside the car is terrible for you and your children. The people living on the road around the school/bank/post office cant open window because someone is always idling outside, spewing fumes out for no reason other than they are pig headed, thick as shit, selfish twats who sat things like, "how dare you tell me what to do in my own car."

I once met a doctor who told me (maybe you can tell me if this is true or not) that when you cut open a set of human lungs it is hard to tell which one was a smoker and which one was a Londoner.

Someone asked me the other day, it had probably been running about 5 mins. One of my dc had a meltdown so I pulled over & didn't even register. I didn't have a problem with it as normally I would have turned it off.

Deidretheelf · Today 16:46
If I was having a hot flush and someone told me to turn off the engine for the AC I’d tear them a new one.

So while you’re old enough to have hot flushes, you’d still behave like a petulant spoilt child?

I once met a doctor who told me (maybe you can tell me if this is true or not) that when you cut open a set of human lungs it is hard to tell which one was a smoker and which one was a Londoner.

there's so many variables that I can't see how that is true.

Pet hate of mine, engine idlers. Disappointing so many on here belie've it is their God given right to pollute the air. Please don't do this. It causes terrible local pollution.

The law is problematic and too open to interpretation it states 'You must not leave a vehicle’s engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road.' - it could be argued that it was necessary due to the temperature thus needing the air con on.

Also how do you all de mist your windows in the winter if you don't allow it to idle for a period of time?

I never idle, I’d rather be hot but a lot of people are thick pricks and selfish to boot.

We live in a cul de sac next to a primary school it’s a known bad air quality zone as we are in a small city in a dip surrounded by hills. Dh goes and asks idling parents to turn engines off. It’s their own kids health they are damaging 🙄 bloody idiots

Well it’s illegal so hardly unreasonable to ask someone to stop breaking the law and damaging others’ health. I always ask.

I've had someone ask me to turn my engine off twice. (On different occasion). I apologised and turned the engine off. I have a car that usually turn itself off when I stop so I think I hadn't noticed. I had music on so didn't hear. It was me being thoughtless.

I didn't mind being asked to turn the engine off. Both people were polite.