Same here in Australia Iggy, we respond straight away to children in a hot car. It happens at least once every 2 days here in summer.
I am always worried about the parents who call for help because they have accidentally locked their child and the keys in the car, that in itself is easy enough to do. But they call us & their roadside assistance people to come and open the car rather than break a window themselves. It’s a big temptation to ask them where their priorities are!
Same here in Australia Iggy, we respond straight away to children in a hot car. It happens at least once every 2 days here in summer.
I am always worried about the parents who call for help because they have accidentally locked their child and the keys in the car, that in itself is easy enough to do. But they call us & their roadside assistance people to come and open the car rather than break a window themselves. It’s a big temptation to ask them where their priorities are!:dubious:
They probably don’t understand how quickly it gets dangerous for the child, and that children can die in a fraction of an hour in temperatures that sound hot but not fatal for an adult. I never would have guessed before coming across this article just now that on a 75 degree day, a child could be dead in just 15 minutes after the temperature inside rose to “only” 108 degrees.
Calling for help is usually required. Without a tool of some sort it is actually rather difficult to break a car window.
Mythbusters on Breaking Car Window
Sometimes its not so easy even with a tool. The right tool for the job makes it much easier.
Just ordered a two-pack of these from Amazon UK… thanks!
I didn’t really explain myself well in my initial post, I have on numerous occasions had the parents want someone to gain access to their car without damaging it.
That ResQme tool is great, thanks Iggy, I will have to get one to put in my glove box first aid kit and hope i never have to use it.
Probably better to keep it with you, like maybe on your keychain, rather than inside the car!
If the caller asks, do you give the okay for breaking a window instead of waiting for a police officer?
If I knew it had been only a few minutes since the kid had been left in there I’d watch to see it the kid was alert and responsive and happy. And wait maybe a few more minutes as long as his condition didn’t change. Not so much to the parent a chance, but there is a non-zero chance of when you break the glass you hurt the kid so you do have to balance the risks there (like getting glass in his eye and it never heals right). Probably call the cops right away and with any luck they are their post haste and they can make the command decisions and give the parent grief.
One thing that occurred to me. What do you break the window with that’s handy? Your car jack. Or somebody elses if they can get to it faster.
An story.
I live in the deep south. When I was a kid my grandmother lived in apartment complexes with large black asphalt parking lots. She liked dark cars with dark interiors. It don’t get much hotter than that car interior wise.
So, we would get in the car. She would crank up the AC and then we about heat stroke while the AC struggled to bring the 140 air down the something reasonable. Because you see, we weren’t allowed to drive around for a few minutes with the windows down and exchange all that 140 degree air for a nice cool 97 degree air because we would “let all the AC out” :smack:
I wouldn’t even think for a moment. I’d call 911 with my cell immediately and then break the window with something nearby (maybe bust the windshield in front since you can stand up on the car and smash down with your foot). Ideally I’d find something nearby to bust it open with (using the car jack out of my own car if it’s nearby/available would be a great idea), but I’d do my damndest to break it with my foot if I could. I would obviously choose the point of entry furthest away from the child so that risk of broken glass etc is lower.
Good post.
I think the front windshield is going to be harder to break open than one of the door windows. Plus the door window is going to be cheaper to replace.
I will guiltily admit that there are two occasions that I have left my dog in the car, when it is about 80 degrees outside, for about 5-7 minutes while I grab something for the beach at Walmart.
However, when I do this I crack all the windows down about 2-3 inches - will this help dissipate the temperature at all?
I have to say, even though I know the risks, I’d be a little more hesitant to immediately break the glass than you guys would.
Is there a potential legal liability for doing so? What if the parent just put them in there seconds before I strolled up and was going to return in two minutes or less? Maybe in that case it could be argued that I was just overreacting and damaging their property.
I know a child’s life is worth more than any punishment, but I think I’d take a look inside to see if the kid appeared to be on the brink of death (unconscious or whatever). If the kid seemed alert and such, I’d call 911 and ask what to do.
I tried to break my own car window once, and it was not easy. It took a large rock in a jacket-turned-sling and a lot of tries.
(Locked my term paper in car and was due in 5 minutes).
The Dutch laws that I read said things about a duty to protect a life, and that breaking property was ok if it was done to protect someone from being hurt and if it was done “honourably”, I think.
So, it sounds as if even if the parent was just popping into a shop, if you had good reason to believe (honourably) that the child would come to harm, you were ok breaking the window.
I don’t know a thing about how laws work, and laws in other places may be different. But that makes sense to me.
Anyway, it’s just a window. How much can it be?
Here in the states, a side window is $200-$300. Even if for some obscene reason your are found to be 100% liable, it’s not that bad.
I don’t know, but I mean, I do sort of see it as an overreaction.
If the child looks okay, you can spare a second to assess the situation, I assume. It seems like people here would immediately see the child in the car and jump to break the window.
I’m genuinely wondering, is the situation that dire? Given the timescales above, it seems you usually have a few seconds to call 911 and give the parents a chance to turn up.
If you don’t know how long the child has been in there, those extra few seconds could be the difference between life and death. An infant in a sealed car in direct sunlight in the summer can be dead in under 20 minutes, and possibly less. If the windows are rolled down, the temperature escalation is far slower, but sealed? They heat up FAST.
I tend to agree with this. If I kid is smiling and playing in his car seat with his toys and just acting like a kid - I think you’d look a giant dick to break in the window. I have no special medical knowledge whatsoever, but I would think a kid that is frying would look somewhat uncomfortable. There is a non-zero risk that you’d at least physically hurt the kid - and I would think it might be a little traumatizing to a kid seeing someone whaling a way at their mommy’s car with a tire iron.
I mean what if it’s parked in the fron space of a 7-11?
Of course it depends on how hot it is and where the car is, but if the kid didn’t look like he was in immediate distress - I might call 911 before breaking out the tire iron. Also I might try the car door first.