To be annoyed at people who sit and run their engines

[Amusedatlife]

Waiting for my supermarket click and collect and the car next to me is just sitting with engine running. Why? It’s just pumping fumes out into the environment. I don’t get it. It’s neither hot nor cold so no need to sit and run heating or aircon. I find it word behaviour. And against the law yet people do it all the time!

YANBU, it's inexcusable. They might as well hold up a big sign saying 'fuck the environment, I'm an inconsiderate arsehole with too much money so I'm just going to sit here and let it burn for no reason'.

I went to a country park where someone was sitting in an idling car. It was annoying enough that they were still there when I came back a couple of minutes earlier with my parking ticket and even more annoying that when I came back two hours later after my walk they were still there with the engine on.

I was about to mention this

I've gone up to people parked on school yellow zig zags, but it doesn't go well! I've now learned that if you're the type of person to park there then you're a c-word who can't be reasoned with.

Or where I live, parents of certain ethnic groups. Think you are racist if you ask them why parking on the yellow zig zags. Right by a sign saying parking on zig zags is illegal and dangerous

Yes, I hate it when other people do it......but it doesn't have to be bery hot outside before sitting in a stationary car gets very uncomfortable, so I am guilty of doing in it for the aircon.

Open the windows, park in the shade or get out of the car.

I’ve only done it when i needed aircon and my baby had fallen alseep on the way to a car park, just to let them sleep a bit more.

Why? How does driving around make it any better?

Maybe shes driven around for an hour and shes got a coffee and just wants to sit and zone out cause shes had 4 hours sleep spread over the last 2 nights. Maybe she is sitting in the carpark giving her baby another 10minutes, why does it matter to you?

Today I was walking up a quiet country lane and some guy was standing outside his car ENGINE RUNNING CAR IS EMPTY while he took pictures of a gate. Fuck knows why.

The car was not blocking the (very very quiet) lane, btw.

Actually my best guess is that he wanted to somehow communicate to the world, by having his engine running "Oh I'm not really stopped" but of course he was really stopped, while trying to perfect his picture. The running engine might hasten his eventual departure by 1.5 seconds I suppose, after he got the pic he was happy with. Eejit.

Other popular social signalling "I'm not really stopped here you can tell because my engine is running, right?" places are:
....the fire engine access hashed road space at supermarket (is next to the parcel lockers, can leave it running while getting something from the lockers...) .... the corner shop (ideal place to leave engine running when car is empty and driver is buying whatever inside
... yellow lined spaces near schools, for a good 10-20 minutes on a hot day waiting for little Tarraquin to dash over, gotta keep the aircon running!
... fiddling with parking apps (anywhere)
... sending a message "I've arrived!" before getting out of the car
... leaning out the window chatting at length with someone in the road or in another car (their engine also kept running)
... another supermarket one, driver keeps engine running while someone is inside.... just because? maybe while parked in a non-parking space or mentally "I'm not really stopping" rationale.

and so many others.

Petrol is very very very cheap.

I think some people also do
it because they want to listen to the radio or power their phone and haven’t figured out how to do this without switching the engine on. I think a lot of also don’t know about the residual heat setting which allows you to run the heating after switching off the engine.

Considering how many drivers are incapable of using their indicators or switching on their lights when it is dark, it’s unsurprising that some of them will be stumped by the finer points of the ignition and heating controls.

Reading manuals is hard.

I've been on the engine controls of the 1955 SS Manxman, 2x4250 shp Steam Turbines 3 tons/hour Heavy Fuel Oil

And I have driven one of the worlds fastest trains - the afternoon Wyschova to Leszno service back in 1998

YANBU. If I had the courage I’d love to knock on the window and ask if they’re worried their car is faulty and won’t start again, or something equally insulting.

God people get so angry about such pointless things on here.

Absolutely. I don't understand it at all. It's really anti-social. But it's also much nicer to sit in a car with the engine off!

It doesnt do the engine any good.

I have everything ready, indicators etc depress clutch pedal, start and go. At the end of the journey park, handbrake on engine off.

Today I was walking up a quiet country lane and some guy was standing outside his car ENGINE RUNNING CAR IS EMPTY while he took pictures of a gate. Fuck knows why.

I once walked past a guy who was up scaffolding and left his van running. I wanted to just get in and drive down the road to make a point.

It’s definitely at the top of my list of annoying things people do.
I see parents doing out at the school daily.
A new neighbour sat every evening opposite my house chatting with his engine running. He was from EE so may not know the rules. After about two weeks I approached him to let him know that it was illegal and annoying. The winter air was bad enough. He hasn’t done it since.

I sit next to a woman most nights at my daughters dance class where she will sit with her music blaring, engine running for over an hour while we wait for our daughters.

I do this by mistake sometimes but I completely agree that it’s obnoxious. My car has stop-start technology so when I stop it turns itself off nearly all of the time so I’m not in the habit of turning it off. Just occasionally it doesn’t turn itself off and I don’t notice. Which is strange as it sounds like
a tractor. I wonder if other people do this too.

The husbands of the married single parents do this during nursery drop off. Doesn't matter what time of year it is.