By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

With extremely cold temperatures forecast for the next few days, you may be tempted to leave your vehicle running in an effort to let it warm up. But local law enforcement officials urge residents to avoid leaving vehicles that are running unattended.

According to Assistant Hays Police Chief Brian Dawson, under the Standard Traffic Ordinances for Kansas Cities adopted by the city of Hays, you could get a ticket for leaving your vehicle running unattended.

The 2016 ordinance reads in part “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.”

Dawson stressed officers are not actively looking for people who violate the ordinance, noting they are more concerned about safety.

“You don’t want to leave a vehicle running unattended, with the keys in it and the vehicle unlocked in case a kid would get in there,” Dawson.

It would also be easy for someone to steal a vehicle left unlocked with the keys in it. Dawson said “it’s not much of a theft deterrent.”

There is an exemption for vehicles with remote start. He added that if they receive complaints, they will investigate.

“If we got called in about it being an issue,” Dawson said, “we would look into it.”