Leaving your car running to warm up before you drive? It’s illegal

It’s 4 CLEVELAND, OHIO — degrees outside, your car is frosted over and you’re not excited about the prospect of a frigid commute.

What do you do? Do you hop in and leave, or let it run while you pour a fresh cup of coffee?

According to the Ohio Revised Code, leaving a car unattended while running is viewed as a minor misdemeanor:

“No person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle shall permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key from the ignition, effectively setting the parking brake, and, when the motor vehicle is standing upon any grade, turning the front wheels to the curb or side of the highway.”

There are some exceptions though. If your car is parked on residential property, you’re in the clear.

If you have street parking, you might need to watch out.

It’s also a long-standing idea that you should run your car for a few minutes before running it to extend the life of your engine. Whether or not this is accurate is debatable.

Experts are split on the issue, but even when you warm the car up you only need to do it for a few minutes, according to AccuWeather.

Some technicians say the car will warm up faster when you’re driving, so it’s unnecessary to let it idle.

Or maybe you don’t do it for the engine, but rather so you can hop into a toasty warm car for your morning commute.