This past Sunday we had one of those inexplicable situations in which, walking down the street, you find yourself a closed car, in the sun, with children inside.
The car was parked on the street, not too well in terms of position (it shows that someone left them “just a moment”, since with a couple more maneuvers they would have left it perfect) and the children were inside with the seat belt wearing, talking, smiling and playing (shows that they shouldn't have been inside for a long time).
However, I noticed that there were some keys on the roof, which did not seem to be those of the car and the situation began to make me unpleasant. We stopped to see if anyone was coming to see us wander near the car and see that nothing happened I decided to call 112 (In fact, I called 092, but I got to talk to an operator in another city and he advised me to call 112).
While making the call, the car alarm rang, which rang for a while without anyone coming, which reaffirmed me in the decision to alert that two children were alone in a car.
I talked to the operator, who asked me the ages of the children, where they were, what car it was, etc. and when it had been a while, while he had just explained the situation, a woman appeared who was approaching the vehicle with bags in his hands.
-Sorry, that's it, the mother has already appeared - I told the operator.
- Has the mother already come?
-Yes, yes, the mother has come - I repeated in front of her so she could hear me.
- Do you spend anything? - the woman asked me.
-No, I called the police because as I have seen two children alone in a car in the sun and it has not seemed very normal ...
-Ah, well ..., I have been here for three minutes, to the bakery.
-No, if I don't judge you. I've only seen two children alone in a car and nobody around, with some keys on the roof, the alarm has sounded and nobody appears ...
-Well, thank you - she told me semi-frightened by the situation.
-Well, take the keys, that you have them there (the lady was already getting into the car without them).
-Ok, uhmmm, thanks, ...
The lady probably got a little scared when she heard "I called the police." It was not my intention to scare her, but to let her know that leaving children alone in a car is not something that everyone appreciates as normal and it was my intention to ensure the safety of those children (I called thinking about them).
In the end, what was most likely to happen happened, that the mother appeared, got in the car and they all left so happy. However, most likely not always and there are several occasions in which we have heard in the news that a child dies after being forgotten inside the car or dies without having been forgotten, because the person responsible for the child has taken too long to return.
In this case they did not seem to be forgotten since, as I said, the position of the car showed that it was a circumstantial car park, however, as I said, I could not know how long it could take her mother to appear, or how long it could take The police are coming, so I acted immediately.
Accidents do not know circumstantial facts and may occur at the precise moment when you least expect it (well, in fact they occur when you least expect them) and Leaving a car alone with children inside is dangerous for various reasons:
It is possible that someone tries to steal the car (difficult and movie, with children inside, but not impossible), it is possible that a car loses control and hits the car parked with children inside (no it's so difficult, it's a lot of coincidence, but it's not impossible), it is possible for someone to try to kidnap the children (movie maker too, but go know ...) and above all, and what worries me most, it is possible that something happens to the mother wherever she is.
The mother could pass out in the bakery, she could be assaulted along the way by some bag thief who threw her to the ground or she could suffer a run over with the bags crossing the street to the car because she knows that her children are alone, to put Some examples. You could even find someone inside the bakery and start a talk that will be delayed for too long, getting to the car with almost dehydrated children (the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said a year ago that "Even if the windows go down a few centimeters, it takes just 10 minutes for a vehicle to reach a deadly temperature on a hot summer day"). In case something happened to the mother nobody would have to know that he has left his children alone in a car, closed and in the afternoon sun.
I know that all these are unlikely events, however, they are not impossible and it does not seem to me a responsible action to leave the children inside the car locked up and therefore, every time I see this situation, I will notify 112, as I did this Sunday.
