Sitting in your car with the engine running.

EricTheWeary

So, I've parked up by MacDonalds to go for a wee and buy a drink. Parked next to a car ( Vauxhall something ) with a chap sat at the driver's seat, engine running. Come back to the car, checking stuff on my phone. So that's at least 20 minutes he has been sat there with the engine running. 
I notice people doing this from time to time, always seem to be a bunch of cars doing it at motorway service stations ( sitting in their cars for long periods with the motor running). 
Why do people do this? In the winter maybe to have the heater running but it's sunny today, he's got his windows open ( so presumably isn't using the air con)so he's just burning fuel and smelling his own diesel fumes. 
It's just a weird little phenomenon that I don't understand. 

mart

Needs to have the engine on to keep the air-con going to offset the heat caused by having the engine on? I’m guessing!

crunchman

This is one of my pet bug bears.

There is a level crossing on my cycle to work.  The number of people who just leaving their diesel blowing out stink is unbelievable.  There are signs there saying to switch your engine off but they still leave them on.

It's a bit more understandable in the middle of winter when they might want to keep the heater on, but this time of year it's just stupid.

skunkwerx

Its not allowed in my borough.. though no one would know if you didnt research it for yourself.. I’ve also never seen it enforced. 

Car audio guys do it to save their battery 

57Deluxe

maybe he has a dodgy battery and can't risk it not restarting...?

Sporky

crunchman said:

This is one of my pet bug bears.

Where's the picture?

WE WANT PICTURES OF YOUR PET. NOW.

sev112

I can’t play my radio / music in my Peugeot without the engine running - it switches off after 5 mins without the engine on

JezWynd

Sporky said:

crunchman said:

This is one of my pet bug bears.

Where's the picture?

WE WANT PICTURES OF YOUR PET. NOW.

(apparently)

ICBM

sev112 said:

I can’t play my radio / music in my Peugeot without the engine running - it switches off after 5 mins without the engine on

Does it not come back on if you just press the on button again? My Renault does.

What’s more annoying is that you can’t have the radio on without the other electrics powered up, so after about 45mins you get a battery charge warning, even though as far as I can tell it’s fine.

Fuel is too expensive to sit with the engine running for more than a minute at most. Even if I’m at a long set of lights I tend to turn it off. Some people must literally have money to burn...

Sporky

JezWynd said:

Sporky said:

crunchman said:

This is one of my pet bug bears.

Where's the picture?

WE WANT PICTURES OF YOUR PET. NOW.

(apparently)

He's so cute! He thinks he's people!

EricTheWeary

ICBM said:

sev112 said:

I can’t play my radio / music in my Peugeot without the engine running - it switches off after 5 mins without the engine on

Does it not come back on if you just press the on button again? My Renault does.

What’s more annoying is that you can’t have the radio on without the other electrics powered up, so after about 45mins you get a battery charge warning, even though as far as I can tell it’s fine.

Fuel is too expensive to sit with the engine running for more than a minute at most. Even if I’m at a long set of lights I tend to turn it off. Some people must literally have money to burn...

It's an assumption or stereotype but I'd say the majority of cars I see doing this are probably company cars so they may be burning someone else's money.

The radio in my old Ford and in my slightly more recent Seat both work without the engine on and both have systems to turn themselves off after so long. Surprises  me that more expensive vehicles can't do this. 

Fretwired

It's against the law and could get you a fine from £20 to £80 depending on where you are ... we have signs in my town.

https://www.confused.com/on-the-road/driving-law/fines-for-idling

Legionreturns

*Engage smug mode* 

I can sit in my car with the ignition and stereo running, the engine doesn't do anything. Hybrid ftw.

People sitting with engines running like that should be fined, or shot. Or fined, THEN shot. Same as people sitting with the foot brake on, blinding every fucker behind them when clearly not going anywhere. Use your hand brake knobend.

Fretwired

Legionreturns said:

*Engage smug mode* 

I can sit in my car with the ignition and stereo running, the engine doesn't do anything. Hybrid ftw.

People sitting with engines running like that should be fined, or shot. Or fined, THEN shot. Same as people sitting with the foot brake on, blinding every fucker behind them when clearly not going anywhere. Use your hand brake knobend.

If you're parked where I live with the engine running then you'll get told to turn it off or get a fine. 

I also don't get this I need the engine running to listen to the radio. On my car I just engage the ignition button on and I can run the radio off my battery. It all gets switched off when I exit and lock my car. No need to run the engine.

Guitar_Slinger

Sporky said:

crunchman said:

This is one of my pet bug bears.

Where's the picture?

WE WANT PICTURES OF YOUR PET. NOW.

He mixed his metamorphosis and it turned into a butterbean, or something.

Bridgehouse

I’m enjoying this. Here I am, sat in my Vauxhall outside McDonalds playing my favourite CD - “Classic Diesel Vauxhall engine sounds”.

It’s only ruined by some miserable twat staring me out for enjoying my favourite CD on the way back to his car. Mind you, he might have good reason to look miserable - took him 20 mins to go in, have a piss and get a drink. Queue must have been really bad. Glad I’m outside with my favourite CD

Garthy

ICBM said:

sev112 said:

I can’t play my radio / music in my Peugeot without the engine running - it switches off after 5 mins without the engine on

Does it not come back on if you just press the on button again? My Renault does.

What’s more annoying is that you can’t have the radio on without the other electrics powered up, so after about 45mins you get a battery charge warning, even though as far as I can tell it’s fine.

Fuel is too expensive to sit with the engine running for more than a minute at most. Even if I’m at a long set of lights I tend to turn it off. Some people must literally have money to burn...

You aren't going to burn much fuel at tick over with no load, not that I'm excusing although if my engine is cold I'll leave it on to warm up. Does your car have stop/start? If not it's always cheaper to idle at the lights.

ICBM

Garthy said:

You aren't going to burn much fuel at tick over with no load, not that I'm excusing although if my engine is cold I'll leave it on to warm up. Does your car have stop/start? If not it's always cheaper to idle at the lights.

No, no stop-start.

It's not cheaper to idle if you're going to be stopped for a minute or more. I have proved that reasonably convincingly by driving for one month without doing, and one month with, because I'm a bit OCD about this sort of thing .

p90fool

We pulled up on a beautiful village green in Herefordshire the other day on our bikes, sat on a bench and started eating sandwiches. 

After a couple of minutes a little Peugeot pulled up and sat there with the engine running for the entire time we were there. 

If it had been a bloke I'd have told him to switch it off or piss off, but I'm uncomfortable about approaching lone females with any kind of hostility so I left it. 

My missus could've kicked her in the cookie though I suppose. 

prowla

My beemer has the auto stop feature; it can sometimes be annoying if it kicks in just before you need to move again!

Axe_meister

People are used to auto stop. But if aircon is on engine may not stop and if the music is loud enough you may not even notice