Does anyone realize that breaking the window could severely injure or kill the baby, who might otherwise be in no danger? DO NOT BREAK A CAR WINDOW WITHOUT CALLING 911 FIRST!
Seems unlikely. Have you ever seen a broken car window? The safety glass shatters into tiny little cubes. These could conceivably cause a minor injury, but the danger of being in a locked, hot car is much higher for an infant or toddler than the risk of being seriously injured from safety glass.
Here’s what’s used in car passenger windows: Tempered glass - Wikipedia
So in crazy hypothetical land people have time to look for objects in there cars and break windows but not enough time to call 911 who could potentially have someone there in less time then it takes to break the window?
Why is calling 911 and getting help on the way before breaking windows so objectionable?
In addition great your a hero you broke the window! Does the child magical recover without medical help? You’re likely going to need the paramedics there at that point anyway wouldn’t it have been better to have them on the way before coating the child in broken glass?
Only if you are trying to break the glass by launching a bowling ball at it. Hit with a hammer or other hand tool, they simply shatter and the shards fall straight down.
You don’t break the window next to the baby, and minutes matter.
Who’s saying not to call 911? I said I’d call 911 first, then break the window.
I think I’ve read the entire thread but maybe I missed it, so could you point out where someone suggested breaking the window and then specifically refusing to call 911? Because I would think that most people with a shred of common sense would assume that in the “break the window first” scenario, you would then immediately call 911. This seems obvious enough to me that I feel it shouldn’t even have to be specifically mentioned, but apparently I am wrong about that.
Obviously, unless you’re a total idiot, you break the window furthest away from the baby. The glass breaks into teeny tiny bits, not long shards, and a few tiny cuts are much easier to heal than a dead baby.
But yes, it’s not entirely without risk, which is why I’d try to see if the baby was arousable, first. If the baby wakes and cries with tears, then it’s not in immediate danger, and 911 can probably get me some professional assistance in time. If the baby’s not arousable, however, I’m making a risk vs. benefit analysis and taking action.
I can’t start CPR if the infant is behind glass.
60 seconds is a lot of time for something like that. I voted for running into the store first, but I’d have my cell in hand to dial after the first shout into the store… so that’s practically simultaneous. If the parent came running up, then we could avoid smashing and broken glass around the baby.
So you had time to read the entire thread but not time to read my post or look at the poll results? Where did I say refusing to call 911?
I’m simply advocating calling 911 before(bolded once again guess you missed that) breaking windows.
Especially here in Texas. The daytime high today is expected to be 100F. 60 seconds in a closed car here is an eternity. Folks here take the baby/animal in a car thing very seriously.
This woman has it down. Best answer.
I’m a little surprised at all the “what if I get sued?” thinking. I mean, so what if you do? It’s going to get thrown out of court. But even if it’s not…say the world turns upside down and they win their case and you have to pay $100,000 for breaking a damn car window. Wouldn’t it be worth it to save the life of a child?
Personally, if someone broke my car window because they thought my child was in danger I’d be down on my knees in gratitude to them. I have two small kids, and the thought of this scenario haunts me. It can and does happen to people who are otherwise responsible and loving parents…it’s not just the low-lifes who leave their kids in the car while they go in the casino to gamble. I recognize that it could happen to me, and I hope that if it did someone would be willing to go to any lengths to save my child. I’m certainly not going to sue them, and I’m pretty sure most people would feel the same.
I’m going to call 911 first, but not to cover my ass. It’s to get professional help there ASAP, and in the meantime I’m going to do anything and everything in my power to get that kid out of the freaking car.
- Knock on the window to try to wake the kid up. If he responds, then window breaking isn’t immediately required.
- Shout a question about someone owning the car. If the parent is on the way out of the store, window breaking or 911 not necessary.
- If the baby doesn’t respond, break the damn window first. You don’t know how long the kid has been in there, or how hot it is in the car. When I lived in Louisiana I put an outdoor thermometer in my car once just as I got in one summer day. It shot up to the top of the range and would have gone further. And that was the arctic compared to Arizona.
- Call 911, after breaking the window, or before if the kid is moving.
- Get a passerby to go into the store looking for the parent, while I stayed with the car. In many cases there are several stores nearby, and you can’t afford the time to try each one, or convince someone there to make the announcement.
Given the reaction to people leaving kids in the car, I wouldn’t worry about being sued. The negligent parent is going to get enough bad publicity - suing the person who might have saved her kid is going to make the parent a pariah. Anyhow, a broken window will be a good lesson about leaving kids in the car.
Ah, nevermind.
It wasn’t very funny after all. I’d just get flamed. Punchline wasn’t worth it.
Interesting the assumption seems to be that the passer by arrived in a car themselves. If it were me in this situation I would have walked or bussed it, so I wouldn’t have access to any window breaking tools. I’d be calling 999 
and getting the attention of other people in the shop or in the car park as appropiate.
Incidentally I called the non emergency number last week over a kid in a car. It wasn’t a hot day but the alarm was going off and she (somewhere from four to a small seven year old) was alternatively banging on the window and covering her ears whilst shouting for help. When I stopped she shouted that she wanted her Daddy but I wasn’t able to understand much more of what she said.
She calmed down while I was waiting with her for the cops but before they came her dad showed up carrying a smaller kid. By then was between five and ten minutes since I’d first seen her. Luckily he wasn’t the type to get annoyed at me for interfering. It turned out he’d gone off to find a bin, to change the baby’s nappy next to, leaving the older kid in the car because she said she wanted to stay and read her book. He’d locked the door not remembering that that would activate the movement alarm, which she inevitably set off. She was freaked out by the noise and the more it went off the more she threw herself about, keeping it going.
IMO he was a bit of a dick for going out of sight (and hearing) to change the nappy (I don’t really see why it was so important to get the used one straight in a bin) but I can understand how you can make the wrong decision when dealing with a stubborn kid who is refusing to move while a younger one needs your attention.
The upshot was that I called the police back and put the dad on the phone to them and they then called him back on his own phone (I’d given them the number of the car, so they’d be able to find him for a followup). Oh and had it been a hot day I would have called the real emergency service.
Breaking a window can cause shards of glass to fly around. This could blind a child, cut him badly, or the shards could even fly into his mouth, he could swallow them, and then die of internal bleeding. These cases may seem unlikely, but they become impossible if you do not break the window needlessly. Tap on the glass to see if the child is responsive. If he is, you have time to consider your actions. Call 911. They will tell you what you should do. The child’s parent might be in the store calling 911 to report a baby locked in the car themselves. Someone may already have been dispatched to the scene.
If the baby is non-responsive, 911 doesn’t answer, or you have no cell phone and no one nearby does either, then consider breaking the window, which you probably won’t do right anyway. It’s a lot harder than you think. If you try to break the window without attempting to call 911 first, and someone is injured, or the vehicle damaged, you are responsible. It is unreasonable for someone who is not certified as an EMT, fireman, or an officer of the law, to employ window breaking as a first resort.
See post #85. I’m not an immediate window-smasher, but even if you are, you could simply break another window not immediately next to the child.
Right. Tap on the window nearest the child, then bust the one farthest.
I’m imagining this. 