[UPDATE] You CAN Leave a Running, Locked Car Unattended in Iowa
Do you leave the car motor running on cold mornings to get the interior heated? Until just recently that was still against the law in Iowa.
But 2017 the Iowa law was rewritten, now permitting motor vehicles to stand unattended without first stopping the engine.
Thanks to the advancement of remote ignition starters, Greg Buelow of the Public Safety Communications Officer of the Cedar Rapids Police Department says the law was amended in March 2017.
The law now reads: "No person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle shall permit it to stand unattended... without effectively setting the brake and turning the front wheels to the curb"
Of course, the main reason police don't want you to leave a running car unattended is to prevent a theft, a carjacking or worse.
While it may not be illegal to leave an unattended car if it is locked and secured, cops will still tell you that most vehicles stolen in Cedar Rapids are vehicles left running and unattended, with keys being left in the ignition, or in situations where keys are elsewhere in the vehicle with the vehicle unlocked.