Would you like to see a law making it illegal to leave child unattended in acar

I also agree that the law is too lenient. Although I do believe it's a step in the right direction. If it's a child's safety the law is in place for, then a child should NEVER be left alone in a car. Something bad can happen just as easily within a 30 second window as it can in a 15 minute window. I understand buckling kids up and dealing with carseats is a hassle; therefore, many parents leave their kids alone for only a few minutes while "running into a store." But, this is not only dangerous, it's pretty stupid. And if something were to happen to an unattended child (even if they were left for only a couple minutes), in retrospect, you'd have admit their safety was sacrificed at the expense of your laziness. This may be a little harsh, but, I don't see how it can be viewed any different. Less lenient laws should in fact be nationwide; again, if it's safety the government is actually concerned of, rather than convenience.

It doesn't really matter how many states pass laws making it illegal to leave a child of any age in a car unattended if no one enforces those laws. For instance, here in Texas it is illegal to leave a child unattended in a car, it is illegal to not use safety seats or booster for any child under 4'9" tall and at least 80 pounds, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 16 to ride in the front seat of a car, but I see all those laws violated every single day. Those laws are great on paper, but they are not saving a single life if they are not enforced. I have actually had police officers here in Dallas tell me, that there are more important things to worry about than whether a parent is letting a 10 year old ride in the front seat or whether or not a child of 4 in in a safety booster seat or even wearing a seat belt. It ticks me off to no end that people have such a disregard for the laws concerning the safety of children. Currently there is women being charged with murder because her infant child went through a windshield due to the fact that she was not in a safety seat. But the police have better things to do than enforce the very law that might have saved that child's life. A few years ago a man killed his baby because he strapped the baby into the car seat, but didn't bother to fasten the seat to it's base which would have prevented the seat from being hurled through his windshield when he had an accident. His response to questioning was that he strapped the baby into the car seat because he has heard the ticket for not using the seat was $300 but he really didn't see the need to strap the seat into the car itself. Again, the police have better things to do than enforce the law that would have saved that baby. I think the idea of these laws is wonderful, but the fact remains that if no one is willing to enforce them, they are just pretty words on a piece of paper.

I think it would be good to have a law preventing people from leaving their child in a car for a long time. A person is endangering their child by leaving them alone in their car like that. If it is hot outside, they could suffocate or suffer from some heat illness or if it is cold, they could freeze and get really sick. It is also unsafe because someone could come up and take the child and hurt the child. It is unsafe in many ways to leave a young child unattended in a vehicle.

I would like to see this all over the world. In Florida, they have a law not to leave pets in the car. It's about time they did something for children.

I believe it is the law in most parts of Australia to not only not leave your children in an unattended car, but to lock your car if you are further than three metres from it at any time! Therefore you could not leave your child unattende in a car without locking it as well! The thought gives me shudders that a child could do some damage and be locked inside the car not being able to get out if their was an emergency!!

It is a law in South Australia to leave a child under a certain age in a car. I think it is 5 years. Not only is it an offence, but the Welfare people become involved if you do this.

I'm a mother of four kids. They range from 14 months to 12 years old. Occasionally, I'll have to run into the store and I don't want to bring in all of them, so I'll roll up the windows and tell them I'll only be gone for a few moments and then I leave. True to my words, I'm gone for just a few short moments. Let me state for the record, that I never leave my children in the car when the temperatures are warm! That's child abuse. It doesn't take long for a car to warm up during these spring and summer months. The other day, I was driving about with my baby and in a few short hours, his little arms and legs were slightly red with a burn. Imagine how much worse that would have been had we not had the air running. Oh yeah, some parents might say, "Oh, I left the air on for them"...that's not going to cut it. Your car could break down or the children might turn off the AC by accident. Then, you're not always going to have a smooth transition at the check out lines. What's the saying, "When things could go bad, they do?" Seems like whenever I'm in a hurry, I'm always behind the customer with the most problems.