Cop Gives Man a $128 Ticket for Starting Car, Leaving It Running in His Own Driveway

In Roseville, Michigan, it’s a crime to start your car and leave it running in your own driveway, according to the police.

Nick Taylor received a $128 ticket for leaving his car running in order to warm it up—even though that’s something absolutely everyone in Michigan does during winter. (As a former Michigander, I speak from personal experience.)

Taylor posted a picture of the ticket on Facebook. The ticket describes Taylor’s car as “unattended.”

“Let’s all take a moment to thank officer dipshit K. Keary for wasting the taxpayer’s money and giving me a ticket for warming up my car in my own damn driveway,” wrote Taylor.

Roseville Police Chief James Berlin told Fox-8 News that leaving the keys in the ignition was a “public safety issue.”

But it’s unavoidable. It’s freezing cold in Michigan during the winter. According to Thrillist, Michigan actually has the second most miserable winter of all states in the country, surpassing even Alaska. (Only Minnesota was worse, in the editors’ views.) There’s no way to get around the a.m. pre-work/school ritual of heading out into the driveway, starting the car, and fleeing back inside the house momentarily.

Taylor should fight this. What right to the cops have to tell a man he can’t try to warm up his car on his own property?