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Thursday, August 14, 2008
Do you ever leave your child in the car unattended?
Getting coffee, dropping off drying cleaning, do you ever leave your child in the car while you run short errands?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I spotted an interesting blurb on the Internet this weekend about the California Highway Patrol trying to bring more attention to children being left alone in cars. Here’s the link to the story and here are some highlights:
“The California Highway Patrol has affixed ribbons to the antennas of their patrol vehicles this month to warn the public about the dangers of leaving children unattended in cars.”
“The purple ribbons are in memory of children who have lost their lives because they were left in the car, including 6-month-old Kaitlyn Russell who died from hyperthermia in 2000, according to the CHP.”
“ ‘Kaitlyn’s Law,’ also known as the ‘Unattended Child in a Motor Vehicle Act’ states that anyone who leaves a child of 6 years or younger inside a vehicle without the supervision of someone at least 12 years old can be fined $100.”
I searched to see if Georgia had a law about this but I couldn’t find one. Do we have any police offers or lawyers reading who could tell us?
I think most parents know not to leave their kids in the car for a long period of time but is any time OK and how close do you have to be to the car for it be to be OK?
Can you leave them in their seats to drop off a tape at the Blockbuster at the outside drop?
Can you run in to get coffee if you can see your car through the window? Does the car have to be parked on the row touching the windows? What about on the other side of the lot but still seen through the window?
Do you leave them parked in the car to run to the ATM or what about into your elementary school when parked in front of the school?
Is it ever OK to leave your kids in the car for any length of time?
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