Unattended young kids in car - would you have done anything?

LTP123

You can go on and on saying chances are one in a million. Someone will always be that one. Why leave yourself open to that risk? There is never a need so great that you leave your children in the car.

notanewuser

LTP123 wrote: »

You can go on and on saying chances are one in a million. Someone will always be that one. Why leave yourself open to that risk? There is never a need so great that you leave your children in the car.

We'll have to agree to disagree then. In some cases it's the better option.

pulliptears

Interesting that Sharnad never confirmed if they let their child user a vending machine...

Ltp do your children use vending machines? They are more likely to be killed by one of those than if you left them in the car.

Air_Cooled_75

custardy wrote: »

I picked one story

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10127381.Car_fire_wrecks_family_s_Christmas/

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Car-catches-Brympton-garage/story-17684338-detail/story.html

http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/latest-news/car-fire-in-morton-caused-by-fuel-leak-1-4597915

http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/latest-news/car-fire-in-pode-hole-caused-by-electrical-fault-1-4594795

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/reading/articles/2012/12/08/64999-mechanical-fault-sparks-car-fire/

you can keep going..

Insurance jobs I bet.

LTP123

No she doesn't she's three. I can't think of an occasion she would either. Leaving your children alone is not an accident. You have decided to leave them for two seconds or five minutes, you are not in control or available to help.

missmucksmum

notanewuser wrote: »

Why on earth was the child with the grandmother then anyway? Bloody ridiculous scenario. Child needed to be asleep, not sat in a takeaway, so leaving her in the car was the best option in my view. A freak occurrence doesn't change that.

so mum could go out and grandmother was babysitting, no its not ideal for the child and definitely not the best place to leave a child in a car on a weekend night on a high st out of view of responsible adult

sharnad

Welshwoofs wrote: »

1 in 23 years makes it a significantly lower risk than being crushed by a vending machine...which happens approximately 2.3 times a year.

These statistics are taken from america where 30 children die a ear from being left unattended in cars. They die from being tryin to tip the machine over. I don't mow anyone hat would try and do that

notanewuser

missmucksmum wrote: »

so mum could go out and grandmother was babysitting, no its not ideal for the child and definitely not the best place to leave a child in a car on a weekend night on a high st out of view of responsible adult

Where were the other children?

To be fair, the odds of what happened happening were tiny. The harm done to the child by the selfish mother and !!!!less grandmother (if this is the level of care they were providing) will do much greater damage than the freak event.

(You didn't mention previously that the car was out of sight. It sounded like it was parked outside the takeaway (which usually have large windows. I've previously stated that I never ever leave my DD in the car if I can't see it.)

Peanuckle

I left my lot in the car while i went in to pay for petrol but never longer than that but since they're all grown up I'd not thought about it for a long time until I saw this thread.

The whole idea I had of them being fine for a quick stop fell apart on Saturday last week though when I stopped at the petrol station on my way to picking up one of my brood. I was just getting back in my car after paying when our of the corner of my eye I saw the car at the pump next to mine moving with noone at the wheel. I shot out of my car and had to open the car door and push the brake (I couldn't see the handbrake as it wasn't in the normal place). The lad who was strapped in in the back, about 3 years old, was screaming and although the car wouldn't have rolled very far it gave him a scare.
Mum came flying out of the garage and put the handbrake on properly, I don't think she'd even put it on in the first place since she had to pull it all the way.
Not as dangerous as some of the incidents on this thread but even so it scared a little lad when he shouldn't have been in that situation.

sabretoothtigger

Janepig wrote: »

There was a little boy killed locally last year after being run over on his own (sloping) drive by his mother's car after the handbrake slipped or there was some sort of incident with the handbrake
Jx

On a modern car if you notice they have disk brakes on all four wheels. The rear disks are how the handbrake is applied.

As the disks are used to brake, they heat up. Metal expands as it heats up. You can burn your finger touching the brakes often
If a car is parked 'hot' the handbrake will then be released as it cools and the metal of the disk brake contracts

Most people dont use the brakes enough to heat them this much but all it takes is going down hill for a couple minutes before you get home.
Handbrake goes on then comes off after half an hour or so

Its not that absolute on or off or every single time but hot brakes is normal occurrence so then is a loose handbrake. So its tragic that accidents like that little boy are likely to reoccur

Trucks have the right design, by default the parking brakes is springed to clamp on. Only under power does the truck manage to keep that clamp off.
If anything fails the brake applies, cars and all those big 4x4 its the other way round.
It has to be left in gear or its dangerous, surely this is taught to learners