Things that niggle me: Number 469
As I walk up to the station each day I can almost guarantee to see a few cars with their engines running as the occupants wait to pick someone up. Okay, if it's 40C and you need the aircon to avoid dying then there may be a case for this, but it's not that hot in the UK and modern cars will start again with no problems. As well as wasting fuel they are polluting the local area. This goes on around schools too. It's not just me who thinks this.
Some cars will even cut and restart the engine automatically if you stop for a certain time. This ought to be standard on new cars. I have been known to turn mine off at junctions where I know I'll be there for 30 seconds or more.
Ah well, this will be irrelevant when we all have electric cars. Hybrids should at least do better as they may not need to run the engine if you are stop-starting a lot.
I'm sure a lot of people just don't think about such things. Our actions have consequences.