"A baby, who went missing after his mother's car was stolen with him strapped in the backseat, has been found safe and well."
Report on the TV said the ignition key was left in the car.
tinyurl.com/3dz59
This is not the first time this sort of car theft has ocurred.
Is it time to consider an alarm similar to a "lights left on" which is activated when the door is opened perhaps with a couple of buttons to cancel it?
A nice loud alarm that gets louder until it is cancelled.
An auxillary position for audio with a timer could allow the audio system to be used without the driver in the car.
I can see there will be lots of objections to the idea but common sense appears not to work.
I suspect there will be limited support from the insurers as I understand they to not pay out for a theft if the key is left in the car.
The idea may smack of nanny state but this mystic "common sense" is in short supply.
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All too common I'm afraid. I believe that the poor chap who was killed at Liverpool airport had left the keys in the ignition.
Insurers probably do have to pay out since a 911 was stolen from a petrol forecourt some time ago. The insurer refused to pay because the driver had left the keys in the ignition. He took them to court and won.
I seem to recall some US cars having a buzzer to warn that the keys are in the ignition if the drivers door is opened when the ignition is off. Just done a quick search to check this and the first hit is from a guy with a Ford Expedition asking how to disable the seat belt and ignition key alarm!
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I seem to recall some US cars having a buzzer to warn that the keys are in the ignition
My BMW does this, whether the ignition is on or off - just that the key is left in.
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My Xsara makes a very loud and insistant chime if I leave the key in and open the door.
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I hired a car in central europe, where carjacking is a known risk, that had a numeric keypad fitted to the central console. If the drivers door was opened, unless the code was keyed within 30 seconds, the engine would stop.
This sounds a good idea - does anyone know if this kit is readily available here, and at what cost?
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My fairly low spec Peugeot has two audio warnings which sound when the driver's door is opened either with the lights on or the key in the ignition. In these days of electronics I am sure they cost buttons to put into a car, it just the manufacturers caring to do it; it is also something else to go wrong!
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PSA obviously have this covered, my three yr old Xantia has the same system as david and AS describe.
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AFAIA, all the Vauxhall range (##) built from around 1998 has an alarm to indicate the key has been left in the ignition if the drivers door is opened. Even a humble Citroen Berlingo van I drove the other day had the device fitted.
## I think however the Omega is excluded for some reason.
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Both the Grand Cherokee and the Berlingo have this warning
Terry
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They keypad (as in the Berlingo) also serves as a useful rough test of sobriety...
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Well, sorry to sound hard (and I'm very glad it all worked out OK BTW) but as a parent I think that anyone who's stupid enough to leave a baby alone in a car is stupid enough to do almost anything. No systems, gadgets or gizmos are going to make up for what amounts to gross stupidity.
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Absolutely right Vman. If it isn't already it should be made illegal to leave a child in a car. I can recall a case of a kid being burned alive having been left alone and then played with the cigar lighter. It should also be clear that insurers would not be responsible in the case of the keys being left in the car.
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Some people don't deserve to have children. Nor cars, quite frankly.
I recall that the Porsche driver made the insurance company pay out because he managed to prove that it was not unreasonable to expect, under his own particular circumstances, that the rest of the world would be sufficiently honest not to pinch his car.
I think were one to do it at traffic lights in Brixton, then on this basis you'd be lucky to get the insurance company to pay out. A rural Cumbrian garage would be quite a different matter.
So then, should we have alarms on our houses to make sure we don't forget to lock them? People should grow up and take responsibility for their lives; else they shouldn't be allowed responsibility.
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Well, sorry to sound hard (and I'm very glad it all worked out OK BTW) but as a parent I think that anyone who's stupid enough to leave a baby alone in a car is stupid enough to do almost anything.
So how do you hold yours while filling up with fuel at the pumps then Volvoman? ;o)
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Mine stays in the car while filling up but comes with me to "help" pay.
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Well DD, I let him do the filling up while I have a fag in close proximity :-)
In truth, however, ditto Patently now the boys are older and on the rare occasions that a sub 3k pa motorist neeeds to fill up :-) (must smile about that 'cos I think about all the tax I'm not giving GB anymore).
Seriously though, when the boys were babies we never, ever left them alone in the car. If you wouldn't dream of leaving your wallet, purse or phone on display in an unattended car how could anyone even dream about leaving a baby ? Of course having a special needs child adds to the sense of potential danger and very nearly losing one rather hardens your attitude to those who take their offspring for granted, but there we are.
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My 2003 Toyota Corolla screams like a banshee when I leave the ignition key in and open the drivers door.
Is this a new EU law?
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That'll be the engine noise, try turning the ignition off before opening the door. ;-)
(only joking)
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My 6 year old Vauxhall Omega has a \'fanfare\' if the door is opened with the key in. I also remember seeing Peugeot 106s? maybe 306s that had numeric keypads on the centre console, and my 1986 BMW 525i used to have a feature where you could set a 4 digit code on the computer before being able to start the car. But at the end of the day, why should we all suffer because of a stupid fool,
You shouldn\'t leave children so young in a car, especially with the keys in and presumeably unlocked, you can\'t legislate against stupidity. As whe the driver did was illegal \"Not securing the vehicle\" , wouldn\'t it be easier to take their license away?
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