Leaving car running and/or unlocked

[Sandy]

I notice as I drop Rayna off at school that a lot of parents not only leave their cars unlocked, but also running.

My husband is horrible about not locking his truck. He used to leave the freakin keys in the ignition, but I think I have pretty much broken him of that dumbass habit. :slap:

Not only to I not leave my car running, but I lock it before taking Rayna into school. :lockie: The only time I do not lock my car is when I park it in our garage.

Am I an oddball? Wait. Don't answer that. What I mean is, do y'all always lock your car? Seldom? Never?

I am totally amazed that people will leave their cars not only unlocked, but running while unattended.:scratch:

[MamaGoofy]

I always lock my door...even if I am just running in some where for one second. That's all it takes for someone to steal it.

People do the same thing at David's school...I just shake my head.

[Barb]

You're a bit of an oddball, but not because of this. :giggle:

Seriously, that is one of the best ways to get your car stolen. We just did a story about this last night on our news. :nod: Not a good idea.

[Mandi]

Are you odd? Can I please answer that? :crossfing :lol:

I never leave my car unlocked. Well unless it's parked in my garage at home. Otherwise it gets locked everytime I get out of it. AZ has the highest rate of car theft in the country (being so close to Mexico and all) so I'm not about to make it easier on them. :nono:

[Bridget]

Points to Sandy for making good use of that lock smiley! :lol:

I don't ever leave my car running or unlocked. The only exception I can think of is the driveway of the lady who watches my daughter. She'll come to the door to get her, and I'll leave the car on about ten feet away with Caleb in it. But I don't go inside.

[Mary DK]

Nope, I'm way to paranoid to do that! :scan:
I do leave it unlocked when in the garage though but I don't leave anything important in it (purse, kids backpacks, keys, jackets, cell phone, etc).

[Sandy]

Dang y'all!!!! I told you not to answer the oddball part!!!! :tease: :raspberry (Sidebar discussion: I feel the need to share with y'all that Rayna HATES those two smilies and freaks out until I get them off the screen.)

Mary, I was just thinking about the issue of leaving stuff in the car. I do leave my ipod docked in the car when it is in the garage, but take my purse and blackberry in w/ me. But it still nags at the back of my mind about leaving it in there. But I do throw my ipod in my purse anywhere else. I used to actually hide the docking station thingy under the seat too, but that got old quick.

[Dennis]

I usually lock it and never leave it running. In most places it's illegal to leave your car running unattended.

[Sandy]

Illegal? Really? How interesting!!! That surprises me.

[Mary DK]

Sandy, I have friends who've had stuff stolen out of their cars even though they were in their garage... another reason our garage door is always locked... as a matter of fact all our doors are always locked especially now that Ian can open doors.

A couple of them had their purses stolen and boy that was a mess since they had to call a bunch of places and replace so much stuff, plus anything especial they had in there was lost forever (special notes from kids, photos, etc).

Yeah, I know... I'm a bit paranoid :scan:

[Nichole]

I always lock my car, and I would definitely never leave it running! No way! You might as well put a big flashing neon sign that says "STEAL ME!" on your car. :lol:

The only time I don't lock my car is when it's in the garage. I don't leave anything valuable in it (ok, except the stroller in the trunk). Our next door neighbor had her purse stolen out of her car when it was parked in their driveway a few months ago. :errr: The scary thing is that their property is gated and their driveway goes up the side of our property, right next to the boys' rooms. So whoever stole her purse walked right past their windows to get up their driveway. :errr:

[Trish]

I usually lock my doors, everywhere, except in my garage. Chad didn't lock his truck doors one night (it sits in our driveway) and then it got broken into :rolleyes:

I also see lots of parents at the boys daycare that leave their car running, while they run in and drop off or pick up, but I never do - too paranoid :lol:

[Jayne]

Well...I will be the odd ball then! I leave my car unlocked in my driveway all the time. I can't tell you the last time I locked it here at home. (Not in a garage) I lock it at church and the grocery store but at home..nah..I also will leave it running at home if I have to stop and run in and get something. I have left it running in the parking lot of the church (Near the door) while taking food in or to chat with the director of the preschool. (I can see the car)

I live in a low to no crime area. Things just don't seem to happen here. We are very lucky and when I leave town I have to remind myself to lock my doors and such. It is nice having the sense of security that we have here!

[Ana975]

I almost always lock my doors. The only time I don't is if it's in the garage or my driveway or at my mom's house. I never leave it running. I think the only time I have is if I've forgotten something in the house and I run in quick to get it.

[marcy]

I always lock it except when it's in our garage. And the last time I left the car running was years ago, I turned it on to warm it up while I scraped snow off it - and I accidently - on autopilot - hit the "lock" button as I was getting out of the car. Duh.

[sabrina]

I leave mine running and locked quite often. I have remote start and start it as I am checking out or before we leave the house.

If it is illegal to leave your car running unattended then why do they sell remote starters? Anyway, give me a ticket. I don't care. At least the car is warm and toasty in winter or cool in the summer so my kids stay warm and don't get burned in the summer.

[sheila]

I rarely lock my car. My dad isn't a car locker; in fact, he usually doesn't lock the house, either. I just figure that if someone is going to steal my car, it won't matter if it is locked or not.

I don't leave it running, though-- unless I'm in the driveway and I have to run back into the house for something.

[bunybomb]

It's illegal in Colorado to leave your car idling. I do it to warm up the car when it's freezing outside but it's parked in my garage/driveway. I would never do it in a public place. I always lock my car unless it's parked in my garage.

[Lynn]

I always, always, ALWAYS lock it. BOth of our cars were broken into this summer so I'm ultra paranoid about it now. I only leave it running when I'm warming it up in the wintertime.

I also lock the garage with the locked car inside.

[Dennis]

If it is illegal to leave your car running unattended then why do they sell remote starters?

It's not illegal to sell them. Here's an article about it in Maryland - http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=643119

Also, it's better for your car to warm it up by driving rather than idling - http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

[gulp!]

I always lock the car, EVEN when it's in the garage! But I also share the garage with 3 other people. I get agita when I leave it unlocked just loading and unloading groceries from the car. :heee:

[schwanda]

I always lock my car. I didn't use to but my old car didn't go to "sleep" unless you locked it. I ran down the battery because I didn't realize that it had to be locked!

Amanda

[Melissa]

I lock the car whenever we are out, and that includes dropping Katie off for preschool. I don't lock the car in the driveway or in the garage. I ran out of the house quickly the other day and forgot to close and lock my front door! Thankfully, nothing happened (we are in a very quiet neighborhood).

[Karri]

Also, it's better for your car to warm it up by driving rather than idling - http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

Wellllll, my vehicle must be warmed upprior to driving it or otherwise once we're all in it, the windows will fog over. Plus there is the whole defrosting of the window dealio in this cold-ass state. And :fyi: some cars do need to be warmed up by idling first...like those w/ a turbo engine. Even in warm weather.

Anyway, come steal my van and break into it, because I leave it unlocked 95% of the time. And its never parked in the garage b/c it doesn't fit. Of course, there is nothing in the van to steal except some magna doodles and some stale goldfish.

And last year, when I would take Aidan to preschool, I *would* leave it idling with kids inside it when I took him inside. OMG...am I admitting this in public? Flog me now. Yes, all the parents did it. It was a safe area, waaay off the street and we all brought extra keys so that we could lock it while it was idling. And yes...we all left our younger children in the car.

[Bridget]

I didn't know that thing about the turbo engine Karri! (Of course I drive a van so... :lol: )

[Karri]

Yeah. I borrowed my brother's Audi when our van was getting a tuneup a few weeks ago and he got all up in my grill about treating 'her' right :rolleyes:

[Sandy]

You know, I did write this thread only thinking about MS climate. How soon we forget! Of course, during my Saskatchewan days we would have the car running forever before we got in it to go somewhere. It used to be a fight as to who the sucker would be to go out and get it started in the morning. I remember one new years eve it was so cold people had to keep leaving during the festivities to go and start them to ensure they would start. Eventually I think everyone just left them all on. :lol2:

[Michele]

I didn't know that about a tubo engine, and my old car had one...oh well, not my problem any more. :lol:

I sometimes will keep my car unlocked - but I don't really keep anything of value in it. Most of the time when I don't lock it is when I'm bringing Jackson into school. Anna is still in the bucket carseat and needs to come with me, plus Jackson (who is usually clinging to me), his bag, etc. I don't have enough hands to lock the door as well.

[Cami]

I lock my car all the time because 90% of the time I leave my big diaper bag (that has my wallet and camera) in the car because I don't want to carry it and the kids and everything else. I just take out whatever cash or card I need and leave the rest behind. Oh so safe.

[LISA]

I have a car starter that locks the door once it's started..not sure why though, even if someone hopped into the car, as soon as you put your foot on the petal the car stops running :dunno: Dh's truck doesn't have a starter and he lets it run for a good 5 minutes every morn unlocked 'cause I have the other set of keys ..we live in the boonies not much chance of a stranger coming along and stealing it.

[sabrina]

It's not illegal to sell them. Here's an article about it in Maryland - http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=643119

Also, it's better for your car to warm it up by driving rather than idling - http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

Granted, I haven't checked Michigan's law but in the Maryland article, it does say "Motorists in Prince George's County have been warned they risk getting tickets if they leave their keys in their idling, unattended vehicles"

With my remote starter, my keys are not left in the ignition. It looks like it is primarily to cut down on vehicle theft to me though

Regarding the warming issue, I couldn't care less about the engine being warm. I want the inside warm for the kids (and for me). Dh already informed me about the engine idling issues etc. He was a mechanic. I just don't want my kids to freeze because most of the time the temperature inside the car is just starting to get warm as we are getting to our destination since we usually are only in the car for 10 minutes or less at a time.

[Clare]

I don't think there's any such thing as a remote starter here. I'd never heard of it before these boards :scratch:

Anyway, I never leave my car unlocked or idling. Once I accidently left it unlocked at daycare, and my handbag was stolen :rolleyes: And recently it was broken into at the mechanics and all my CDs were stolen :angry2: As for idling, it wouldn't even occur to me. If I need to run back into the house, all my keys are on the same keyring, so I have to take the key out of the car to get the house key. And I'd never, never, never leave it running with kids in it :nono: I've seen one too many bereaved parents on Oprah who did that and lost their kids :( Plus, I'd be less worried about a thief stealing the car then one of my boys climbing into the front and driving off!! :eek: :lol:

[Darcy]

I never leave the car running. And I always lock it. Which reminds me of something that happened to me when Phil and I first started dating. He borrowed my car to go fill the tank up at the gas station. Then he calls me from there saying he locked the keys in the car. Fine. Not the end of the world, but annoying. I drove his car over there and find that he locked the keys in the car...with it running! :doh: Yeah, not the brightest move. (And I won't even get into the one time he borrowed my car without telling me, only to have me come down from our apartment to notice my car gone. Which resulted in me calling the cops. :shuffle: )

Sorry for the tangent! :lol:

[Karri]

Which reminds me of something that happened to me when Phil and I first started dating. He borrowed my car to go fill the tank up at the gas station. Then he calls me from there saying he locked the keys in the car. Fine. Not the end of the world, but annoying. I drove his car over there and find that he locked the keys in the car...with it running! :doh:

Um...done that. And um...my kids were in there.
Does that give me the nomination for the bad mom of the year?? I had to borrow someone else's car while they stood w/ my kids and I drove home to get a spare key. I didn't feel awful or anything :loser: And I got that mom a huge starbucks GC for standing in the cold for 30 mins.

[MrsPeacefrog]

I don't ever leave my car running or unlocked. The only exception I can think of is the driveway of the lady who watches my daughter. She'll come to the door to get her, and I'll leave the car on about ten feet away with Caleb in it. But I don't go inside.

I don't want to freak you out but we actually had a incident here in Sydney with this exact scenerio, a mother went to the front door to collect her daughter from her sisters house and she left her car running with her baby in it, which was about 5 odd meters away from her (around 15 feet) and while talking to her sister she watched a man jump in her car and take off. She didn't have time to run around to the drivers side, :errr: Thankfully the man dumped the baby on someones doorstep but still just freaky!! I will NEVER leave my car running or the keys in it when the kids are in it after that happened! I used to leave it running and if I forgot something in the house go in and get it, but not now! :errr:

[Lynn]

Anyway, come steal my van and break into it, because I leave it unlocked 95% of the time. And its never parked in the garage b/c it doesn't fit. Of course, there is nothing in the van to steal except some magna doodles and some stale goldfish.
And three TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLAR carseats! :nono:

[pam]

I always always always lock my car & never leave it running. I generally don't leave anything of value other than CDs & miscellaneous replaceable baby stuff (toys, extra dipes/wipes, blankets, etc.).

[Silke]

Car is always locked, and I don't keep it running either. Neither are a good thing to do in Germany...just brought this habit to the US :lol:

[~LORI~]

I'm on the oddball end here too. We live in a little town where the crime rate is very low. Heck when we go out we will leave our doors unlocked. When I drop Lindsey off at preschool I will leave my car running and unlocked and will take her to the door (usually the teachers are at the front door to take her in). But as soon as I pull up in front of my house and go inside I will lock it. If I go to the grocery store or the mall I will lock it.

[MrsPeacefrog]

Oh I didn't answer the question:

I never lock my car, when it's in my driveway (I also am too lazy to park it in my locked carport) As much as I don't want it stolen, it has an imobilizer, it's insured, and there is nothing of value IN the car other than the carseats and stroller.


when you want a car stolen it never happens. We couldn't sell Tony's car for a good price, it was actually insured for double than what we could sell it for, and we were begging people to steal it, but it never happened :lol:

[Cami]

I don't understand leaving the car running. I can see if your kids are in there and you want to keep them warm or cool. But otherwise, how it is any harder to just turn the car off when you get out?

[stass]

I think petty theives just go around checking for unlocked cars and take crap from them. Then if they don't find easy unlocked cars they move on to breaking in. So why not :lockie: the doors. :dunno: