"Idle" Chat (rant)

[rh77]

OK, 2 things to balance out this rant.

First, I love driving on Saturday mornings. I basically have the streets to myself, and I don't have to worry about some arse on my bumper. OK, there's the

Now for the

I generally stop at the coffee shop in the mornings to get my fuel for the day. Since it has gone below 50 degrees in the morning, there is someone in a gas guzzler, letting their vehicle idle while they go in for coffee.

Every day this week there's been a different vehicle.

Here I am this morning, CODFISHing in the parking lot and drift into the parking space, and lo and behold, theres a '07 Yukon SLT running with no one in it.

Ethical considerations:

It has to be unlocked. I'm so tempted to just to shut it off and put it back into ignition mode. Ignoramus comes out, "Huh, it must've stalled". The drawback -- is it legal? If so, I'm sure the owner wouldn't be too happy if they were to come out as this was happening. Just random thoughts this week...

RH77

[Silveredwings]

Originally Posted by rh77

The drawback -- is it legal? If so, I'm sure the owner wouldn't be too happy if they were to come out as this was happening. Just random thoughts this week...RH77

Most places now, it isn't legal to idle more than about 5 minutes with longer exceptions in cold weather. Not that the owner is likely to care about that.

The other consideration is whether the owner is big and ill-tempered...and armed.

Look, you can't change the world, but if you work really hard at it, you might be able to change just one guy or gal.

[nonnef]

Screw ethics. Steal the thing! Just playing.

I havn't done it myself because I'm too afraid of getting shot. But I know of plenty of people who pull the keys out and toss it in their backseat. Cue havic when they get back and can't find them.
Bet the people never leave their car running agian.

Legally though, I can't imagine any charges sticking. You saw a car idling and thought you'd help the owner out. Any judge should drop the case(long as you didn't take anything, and only turned off the car).

Of course, it is illegal to put money in someone elses parking meter, so who knows anymore.

[Silveredwings]

I like the key in the back seat thing.

I wish I had am EMF pulse generator with enough stength to kill the ignition in another car.

Then again, there's the old tried and true idaho in the tailpipe (kids, don't try this at home).

[onegammyleg]

I sometimes used to teach people to drive in Australia (friends) and one of the things cops look for in the test is that you must buckle up before putting the key into the ignition.

Get it wrong and you fail the driving test immediately.

So I take it , in Oz , that you would not be legally allowed to leave a car unattened for any time with the key in the ignition , running or not.

[MetroMPG]

Until I read this thread, it never would have crossed my mind to be concerned about getting shot by switching off someone's idling car!

How about: make up a little flyer. Stick it on their windshield.

Edumacate them. Hit them with the cold hard facts (the list of cons about idling is lengthy), or see if you can find a creative way to make the point - since the owner's rational facilities are already suspect and the logical approach possibly futile.

I was riding with friends in their car yesterday (always interesting to see how people drive in the real world, but that's another story). When we stopped for a bottle of wine to take to dinner, the driver left the car running. (So I switched it off.) I find people are more likely to leave a parked car running when passengers are inside, out of some kind of bizarre "courtesy" which has nothing to do with need: the 2 of us remaining in the car weren't cold, or hot, or even listening to the radio.

[rh77]

Yes, here Missourah, the "Concealed Carry" law means anyone could have a gun -- so there's concerns there. But, I like the idea of of a flyer. But the problem is, most people don't care and would likely forget about it. Their vehicle choice for example -- probably lucky to get 15 mpg.

I'll come up with a list of cons and maybe print a page or two and see what happens. Maybe do a little Sociological Experiment like park out of view and watch their reaction as they read it.

-RH77

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Until I read this thread, it never would have crossed my mind to be concerned about getting shot by switching off someone's idling car!

How about: make up a little flyer. Stick it on their windshield.

Edumacate them. Hit them with the cold hard facts (the list of cons about idling is lengthy), or see if you can find a creative way to make the point - since the owner's rational facilities are already suspect and the logical approach possibly futile.

I was riding with friends in their car yesterday (always interesting to see how people drive in the real world, but that's another story). When we stopped for a bottle of wine to take to dinner, the driver left the car running. (So I switched it off.) I find people are more likely to leave a parked car running when passengers are inside, out of some kind of bizarre "courtesy" which has nothing to do with need: the 2 of us remaining in the car weren't cold, or hot, or even listening to the radio.

[MetroMPG]

Or you could just stuff a potato in the exhaust pipe.

[rh77]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Or you could just stuff a potato in the exhaust pipe.

And waste a perfectly good potato? In some cases, we're talking DUAL exhausts here. I'd need to carry a sack of 'taters all over town!

RH77

[JanGeo]

Just be careful that there isn't a baby or a dog inside - isn't it illegal to leave a running vehicle running unattended? They could also have a remote door lock not attached to the ignition key. Hey once you stall the engine you could take back the potato this assumes that they don't have a leaky exhost system and it keeps running.