Remote Start/Leaving Kids in Car

[flying_babyb]

My car keyfob has a remote start function that turns the engine on and starts up the A/C (or heat). In order to use it, the car has to be locked first. So the engine is running, doors are locked, A/C is on, and I have the keys in my hand.

Is there any situation you would leave the kids in the car with it running like that? Would it depend on the ages and whether they were strapped in carseats (and couldn't get out)? Or would you never do it under any circumstances?

Just curious!

My freind does every night. Her 4 year old and her 2 year old. She leaves in the car to run into there sister and brothers daycare center to pick them up (but then again there center has ALL glass windows)

 

[EthansMom]

I was horrified when I was visiting my Dad and StepMom and my Stepbrother and his wife left their baby in the carseat with the car running in front of my Dad's house for an extended period of time (1.5 hours maybe) because he was sleeping and they didn't want to wake him. This was during the winter and they left the car running for the heater.

They did take turns checking on him every few minutes. I didn't say anything to them, but both DH and I thought it was terrible.

I NEVER left my kids in the car unattended when they were younger. But now that they are 7 and 5 and can get out of their booster seats, unlock, and open the car door on their own, I will occasionally leave them in the car for a VERY quick stop into our small local post office or library. When I do that, I do not leave the keys in the car and do not leave the car running. Also, during the summer, I make sure the windows are rolled down. And I usually lock the doors. (The kids could get out but no one could easily get in.)

I only do that in our very small, no crime town and only when the trip in is going to take 3 or 4 minutes (say, drop library books in the drop box that is indoors because they lock the outside one during open hours). I don't leave them in the car alone in the nearby bigger towns or for anything longer than a few minutes... so no leaving them unattended while I go grocery shopping.

And, please don't flame me because I leave my children alone for a couple minutes. Both kids are well-versed in what to do if a stranger approaches them. I take reasonable safety precautions without being a helicopter parent.

 

[Imzadi]

But that is totally different with the remotes that cars now have. You can have your child in the car with the a/c or heat on, but you still have the keys, so there could not be a carjacking.

That is a scary story but could not happen if you leave your car running with an auto start- you have no keys in the ignition and the second they step on the brake to get the car out of gear it dies on the spot- you can not drive a car with an auto start if you dont have the key to put in the ignition.

No one can drive away with the car, but they could still take the children. Or a child can open the car from the inside and get out and wander off. Auto-start gives you a false sense of security.

This story was from a few years ago. They probably changed the cars purposely after a few events like this happened.

But as diznygirl pointed out, they can still take the kids. What if some robber, who doesn't know about these new auto-start features sees your car on, comes up, smashes the window in, hoping to take the car. Of course, with your kid inside, you are going to run out to confront him. It would be different if you just saw him breaking into an empty car. You'd head for your cellphone to call the police instead of heading out to confront him to get your child.

By this time, he's committed to the crime. Things may escalate. Now, you are standing in front of him, he's going to threaten you to get the keys. Not a good situation. Crimes happen and escalate because of opportunity. So many home robberies escalate into rapes when the robber finds a woman alone in the house they are robbing. If the guy smashes your car door window in, he's kind of already bold enough and possibly committed to taking the car at that point. He might not care, like the Oprah incident I described, that a child is inside. Don't create opportunities for them.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

No one can drive away with the car, but they could still take the children. Or a child can open the car from the inside and get out and wander off. Auto-start gives you a false sense of security.

The remote start on my car automatically locks the car, so noone could just open the door and take the child. My car also has childproof locks that, when engaged keep anyone in the backseats from opening the car door from the inside. The windows have a child lock so that these can't be rolled down either. So if someone wanted to take a child from my car, the difference in risk with me being in the driver seat, hypothetically speaking, is so small as to be unremarkable. The appearance of risk may be lower, but I daresay only the appearance of risk, not the actual risk.

I think most cars built in this decade with remote start have these safety features built in, no?

 

[Snow_White]

Not in a trillion years.

 

[diznygirl]

The remote start on my car automatically locks the car, so noone could just open the door and take the child. My car also has childproof locks that, when engaged keep anyone in the backseats from opening the car door from the inside. The windows have a child lock so that these can't be rolled down either. So if someone wanted to take a child from my car, the difference in risk with me being in the driver seat, hypothetically speaking, is so small as to be unremarkable. The appearance of risk may be lower, but I daresay only the appearance of risk, not the actual risk.

I think most cars built in this decade with remote start have these safety features built in, no?

I still feel this is a built-in false sense of security. I love my kids too much - I'm not willing to take the chance.