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Comment by jimmaswell | Hacker News Reader

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. 3 minutes? A $350 fine? Are you kidding me? I spend longer than that idling in a fast food parking lot eating my food. How do any judges sleep at night enforcing this? I'm not going to sit in a hot/freezing car in traffic if I can help it by running the climate control inside for a while first (definitely takes more than 3 minutes, or especially that particularly ridiculous 1 minute in school zones). I guess these people would prefer my dog suffer in the heat instead of sitting in air conditioning for 5 minutes while I get something out of a gas station. More and more reason I never want anything to do with NYC.

The goal of protecting the environment is so that it can better serve us in the future. The environment is not an end in itself. Idling regulations are far too great of an inconvenience compared to the tiny benefit. I hope this war on cars is just a fad.

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I spend longer than that idling in a fast food parking lot eating my food.

That's weird. Why not just go inside to eat?

As for the dogs, I'm sure the judges are happy to make exceptions for exceptional circumstances. It sounds like the law is targeted at the largest groups of offenders: commercial vehicles idling unnecessarily, and parents who (bizarrely, IMO) insist on waiting in a long line of cars to pick up their kid after school.

Because it's easier to just eat in a parking space after the drive thru than to take the food inside. Lots of people do it. McDonalds even has designated spots for this. I also just find it a lot nicer than going inside - I'm in my own space, radio's there, climate control is how I like it, dog's with me in the passenger seat, and when I'm done I can just immediately go.

You know the radio will work with the engine off, right? And the fan too! If the car is already warm/cold, the fan will move enough air to keep the car comfortable on all the but hottest/coldest days.

> all the but hottest/coldest days

Have you ever driven in Georgia during, well, basically this exact time of year?

Yes, Atlanta. Only slightly (2* or so) warmer, on average, than DC. And, this time of year would typically have the hottest days. So, I'll stand by my point. If you're idling your car for 20 minutes while eating a Big Mac in April, you're needlessly polluting. Hot days in July and August - I get it, but would prefer you just went inside.

> ... parents who (bizarrely, IMO) insist on waiting in a long line of cars to pick up their kid after school

The alternative is to constantly drive around, which is worse in terns of road safety and emissions.

The alternative is to let the kids ride a bus or walk. Or park and get out instead of sitting in your car idling.

>The goal of protecting the environment is so that it can better serve us in the future. The environment is not an end in itself.

Maybe to you. Most Americans disagree: http://www.michaelpnelson.com/Publications_files/Bruskotter%...

81% believe nature has intrinsic value.

I love national parks and the outdoors and all that but from what I recall, car idling is merely 2% of all NYC CO2 emissions

But they're an unnecessary 2%.

The laws are for immediate air quality, not for larger scale environmental pollution. I'm going to guess you aren't idling in your car in central manhattan, probably somewhere out in the suburbs where there aren't many people around.

This is simply antisocial behavior for the sake of being antisocial.

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