To ask someone to not leave their engine running at nursery pick up?

[ThereIsOnlyDocMcStuffins]

Parents queue up outside the nursery entrance to collect their DCs at home time. Today, once again, this parent parked their big SUV type thing on the double yellows outside nursery entrance and left the engine running (car empty) whilst they queued for 10 minutes to pick up their DC. There is a dedicated nursery car park around the corner with spaces free so it's not like there was nowhere else to park.

I politely suggest that this is not great for air quality in the nursery as the car is next to the open nursery windows for the room where our DC are based inside.

Parent is offended and gives me some spiel about how they have read studies about it being more environmentally friendly to leave the engine running.

I explain that I would rather not be breathing in the emissions while I queue and they reluctantly turn off the engine.

Was I being unreasonable?

I hate engine's running- it would drive me mad too!!
It's actually illegal too.

What an idiot, bad enough leaving it running when sat in it but no-one even in it? No doubt not her own hard earned cash she’s wasting. I hate those people who park on the double yellow lines causing traffic chaos. Good for you saying something to them, they’ve got an answer for everything. Maybe have a word with nursery staff if they persist

Yanbu.
I'd mention it again if they did it. Maybe the nursery could put a reminder in the newsletter?

I had this every day at primary school pickup, one day I had enough and asked the 4x4 woman politely switch the engine off because of air pollution. She told me to fuck off. She was a horrible horrible woman. Most people don't care. It's a shame.

There was a woman parked up near school before I got there the other day. I picked up DC and left and she still had her engine running. Probably for 20 min at least.
People that do this are dicks.

No you are not unreasonable and no it isn’t better for the environment. Parent is a a knob.

Not unreasonable at all and all schools / nurseries here have a 'no idling' rule

It’s not better for the environment and it’s illegal in a stationary vehicle

hqppened at our nursery, I complained and they sent an email to all parents telling them to turn engines off

She's a total twat! I'm also a massively petty human so I would probably suggest to the local traffic inspectors that they might want to swing by at pick up time in the hope that she gets a ticket for the double yellows.

Ask nursery to send out parent letters Its so annoying and nonsense to say its environmentally friendlier.

Switch ignition off and throw the keys down the nearest drain

Not unreasonable at all. Our nursery sends out reminder emails or puts it in newsletters when they see people doing this. Maybe mention it to the setting?

I always hope someone drives off with the car when someone leaves an empty car idle. No Insurance pay out. Actually just saying that you heard someone's car got stolen like that would probably be more likely to stop them idling than any environmental reason. Selfish twats like that only care about themselves.

Whenever people do this I have to resist the urge of jumping in and driving down the road. Not far, but just to prove a point.

It's rude, inconsiderate and twatty behaviour.

Contact the nursery to send out a note not to do it, it's them not you, YANBU.

Would it have bothered you so much if it wasn't a 'big SUV type thing'?

A woman at my DS' nursery does this at drop off and pick up. Her car is neither big, nor an SUV, but I still think she is an enormous twat for leaving it running so unnecessarily directly outside the kids' playground. Hope that helps.

It's just so pointless. It takes seconds to switch off and restart a car. You don't see paramedics rushing to help someone having a heart attack leaving the engine running because they simply don't have time to switch it off, so I absolutely fail to see why an average parent collecting their kid from an average day at school can't spare those few seconds.

It is an offence.
She is a bitch op.

YANBU. It’s no better than standing next to the nursery windows smoking. In fact, in terms of air quality, it’s probably considerably worse.

In my Borough parking wardens often to the rounds of local schools at drop off/pick up times and ticket those who park on the yellow zigzags, despite many schools having several large notices placed prominently reminding parents that it is illegal

@Shmithecat2 no, of course it would not have bothered me as much if it had not been an SUV... because my issue was with the air pollution going in the nursery windows to the children's room...and SUVs produce on average 25% more harmful emissions than the average car. The area reeked of exhaust from the extremely loud engine.

Are you the parent? 😂

That’s because of the additional weight and larger frontal area, neither of which have any effect when the car is idling. It’d not be putting out any more pollution when sitting there than any smaller car with the same engine.

This did cross my mind! Not so much the throwing down the drain, but to turn off the car and give the parent the keys -here you forgot these - to give them a shock.

Thank you so much everyone who has responded to say I was not being unreasonable. I'm actually pregnant (but not yet visible) so this probably made me extra sensitive to this.

I will mention to the nursery but not sure there is much they can do. There have been several emails recently about not parking on the double yellows outside, as it blocks the vans from the business premises opposite from driving out.

I think sometimes entitled people like this need to be called out on their bad behaviour when it happens.

I hate this. There are a few parents who do it outside my child's nursery too (road is some distance from the actual nursery garden/building so I don't think it's actually affecting the nursery air, but it's horrible to walk past especially with fume-height 3-4 year olds. Such selfish behaviour. Nursery periodically put reminders in the newsletter (both about the idling and about it pissing off local residents as they're parked all over the narrow pavement!) but nothing changes.

Ah this is the dream! I might email my (largely useless) LA and see if they could be tempted. It's an issue around so many schools locally and the likelihood of being told to fuck off is high, so I don't particularly want the aggro myself and I feel for the school staff I sometimes see attempting to enforce the bloody law. Dickhead drivers.