Can you, as a driver, move away from a car which engine is running?

In the photo, a woman is getting out of a dark car standing in a car park and walking away, leaving the driver's door open; the question makes it clear that the car's engine is still running. A driver must not move away from a vehicle whose engine is running - such a car may move off, be stolen or poison the surroundings with exhaust fumes. The answer is: no.

The Road Traffic Act prohibits the driver from moving away from the vehicle when the engine is running. The same provision also prohibits leaving the engine running while parked in a built-up area, but the ban on moving away itself applies everywhere. Before you walk away from the car, you switch off the engine, apply the parking brake, close the doors and take the key - this takes a few seconds, and it protects you and others from a car rolling away on its own.

Legal basis: Art. 60 para. 2 point 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)