Back in the old days of carburetors we were taught that if you left your car idling for less than 30 seconds it saved more gas to let it run than shutting the engine off and restarting. However, most cars today have fuel injectors which lowers that magic number to 10 seconds...some even say 7 seconds. So when I go to the bank or wait at the railroad crossing I actually save gas by shutting down my engine.I say all this to address one of my biggest pet peeves. When I drop my son off at the Daycare a great majority of the parents leave their cars running while they go in to drop off their kids. Today, for example, the car next to me was running when I got there and was still running unoccupied when I left...a good ten minutes later (and it was 70 degrees outside...no need to run the A/C).
Here's the reasons why this drives me so crazy.
1.) It's actually illegal in Texas to leave your keys in the ignition due to the great potential of theft.
2.) It's dangerous to leave your car running in a daycare parking lot with so many kids around.
3.) It's a terrible waste of gas and money during these times of $4 a gallon gas.
4.) It's terrible for the environment to needlessly spew carbon monoxide into the atmosphere when it can easily be prevented.
5.) What message does that send your kid that you drop off them so fast you don't even want to bother shutting off your engine? Might as well have a drive through window at Daycare to expedite the process.
So I talked to our Daycare representative at our school and fortunately the problem will be addressed. People, save your money and environment and turn off your car when sitting for more than 10 seconds. According to General Motors you will more than recoup your gas savings than the expense caused by wear and tear on your ignition.
