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?

I agree with you, OP. I hate it. It's so selfish, forcing other people close by to breathe in their fumes. Not sure if there's any point in asking them to turn it off though, as they'd have an excuse or tell you to MYOB. But you have raised awareness on here - I didn't know it's illegal.

But what do you do in the winter to de mist your windows?

Pollution is everyone’s business.

Really depressing to read this thread, I thought it was quite well known how bad idling is for air quality and what bad air quality is doing to us.

I’ve politely asked drivers to stop idling - mostly parents outside a school on a road I live on and they’ve always been fine and turned it off. The school have put up no idling signs now which helps. Public roads are shared by other people and you don’t get to cause even more pollution because you don’t want to get chilly or hot or wake your baby or simply because you think it’s my car and I’ll do what I like in my car 🙄

Most of us would turn it off just to conserve petrol/diesel at the extortionate price it's at.

BUT I wouldnt even consider saying anything as I feel it is way too intrusive into other peoples' business.

Utterly depressed to see how many people think this is acceptable behaviour. It gives me the rage when I see it, particularly outside school and nursery, as older DS has asthma. I do tell people when I see them doing it, but usually with a polite 'I think you might have accidently left your engine on' to give them a chance for a face saving 'Whoops! Silly me' response. Some people are still dicks about it though. I'd like to shove their grubby exhaust pipes down their throats. And yes, before anyone piles on - I cycle to school, never drive.

I’m all for saving the planet and clean air around our schools but there are so many common, valid reasons for needing either the air con or heating when there are extremes of temperature that it’s rude to automatically assume they don’t have one, and more rude to say something to them.

People that idle in their cars aren’t the kind of people that take constructive criticism well.

there are so many common, valid reasons for needing either the air con or heating when there are extremes of temperature....

This is the UK. How many days in the year do we have 'extremes of temperature'?

You are obviously not ‘All for it’

People simultaneously so delicate that they must keep their air con going for the ten minutes they pull over for fear of health complications and yet so robust that they will spring out of the car and punch you in the face for asking them to switch the engine off. That I want to see on a Venn diagram.

Can you actually see the police attending because someone has their engine running? I'd just laugh at you.

Nonsense. People managed to survive in cars for decades before air con. The woman could open a window if she's hot.

I would rather they were out catching drink/drug drivers, speeders, drivers without tax insurance, drivers with unsafe vehicles. Offences were there is an imminent danger to other pedestrians and road users.

When they've dealt with them perhaps they should have a word with the engine idlers, not until though.

What a pointless waste. Why don't people turn them off?

Completely agree. I've noticed that whenever a thread about things like littering, not picking up poo, inconsiderate parking, speeding, accidental damage, anti-social noise, being rude to staff, etc, etc crops up on Mumsnet no one ever admits to committing such an offense themselves, yet clearly many people do and statistically more than a few will be on here.

This type of thread act as a good signifier as to which posters are most likely to be guilty of other inconsiderate actions after all, if they're a selfish twat in one aspect of life there's a good chance they're are a selfish twat in other areas too.

so happy that where i live it's illegal. And people have no qualms about telling you to stop being such a knob

Absolute dick heads in here who don't give a shit about pumping noxious particulate pollution into the air where some little kids are going to walk. Fuck them and their asthma eh, you're getting a bit warm sitting in your car.
Some twat at a campsite was idling his van at 11pm at night so he could watch a film, filling our tent with diesel fumes, why on earth it took me knocking on his window for him to pull his head out of his arse and realise he was being a complete knob making other people ill and unwell god only knows.

Many cars now come with a heated windscreen for this purpose. If your car does not have this then you can leave a window down a smidge to stop the car becoming warmer inside than outside overnight, thus stopping condensation forming in the first place. Buy a 12v plug in demister, use a cloth/pad, or buy a coating that you spray on the inside of the screen to stop it from misting up.

But I'm sure you'll be back to tell us none of those could possibly work and the only way is to idle your car for 10 minutes or so each day.

🤣 no. Sadly not. 60s Porker.

I find it disgusting but have never been brave enough to say anything to anyone doing this.

The type of person to do this is generally very selfish and will think it’s their right to pollute the air you’re breathing.

I agree. I find it really hard to imagine what kind of person thinks it’s ok to sit and pump carbon monoxide and PM2.5 into the air on a residential street - as well as making continual noise - just so they don’t get a bit too warm or cold while sitting on their arses.

I’m assuming they must be the kinds of people who smoke around children and play loud music in their gardens.

@Thebestwaytoscareatory

Many cars now come with a heated windscreen for this purpose. - yes I have a heated window screen but it still takes 5-10 mins to get the mist and ice off the car in the winter.

If your car does not have this then you can leave a window down a smidge to stop the car becoming warmer inside than outside overnight - invalidates insurance

Buy a 12v plug in demister, - still have to have the car on to use this?

use a cloth/pad - that's fine but it then fogs up again quickly depending on the temp!

or buy a coating that you spray on the inside of the screen to stop it from misting up - doesn't help ice etc.

But I'm sure you'll be back to tell us none of those could possibly work and the only way is to idle your car for 10 minutes or so each day. - I've never met anyone who doesn't in the winter!

OP, I sympathise, but sadly no-one gives a shit. I live next a beach, where the fuckwits (millennials usually) park up, looking at the waves - 'isn't it lovely' - munching their McDonalds (nearest one is two miles away), engine running, then throw the cartons out of the window. Give up, its pointless. We're fucked.

The request to turn it off is quite reasonable. It is selfish to make the air quality shit for everyone needlessly. Idling causes really damaging local pollution that has a disproportionate effect on children.

It's massively worrying to see the level of hostility and aggression from some of the earlier posters. On the plus side, at least people like these advertise just how awful they are, both at intelligent thought and impulse control. Allows the rest of us to stay away and avoid.