In hindsight I’m glad I wasn’t killed. But I got to the video rental store and a car parked in the lot had about 4 or 5 kids piled in it, ages about 4 - 8 or so. I hung out for a bit, but no parent in sight. The kids were pretty rambunctious, climbing over the seats, not aware at all of anything.
After awhile and still no parent, I glanced inside and the keys were in the ignition (all the windows rolled down). I took one last look around, grabbed the keys and told the kids I was going to give them to their parent. (The kids were “yeah - whatever”). I walked into the video rental store and loudly proclaimed “Who’s blue Volvo is outside with all of the kids left alone? I have your car keys!” A lady looking at videos came forward and claimed them and went outside.
I’m glad she was more embarassed than I was and didn’t make a big fuss with me. And I imagine the odds were that the kids would have been okay. But, it was easy enough for someone like me to grab the keys. It would have been easy enough for a bad guy to take the entire car.
I agree you did the right thing.
It’s called common sense....discretion
Given mine was locked and no key and a huge black pitbull meets rottweiler meets Satan looking dog sitting next to sleeping 4 year old in truck parked right in fro of HD ..yes...in the Construction Loading area
you woulda not done anything...that lady fixing to stick her arm in the crack in my window proved she was naive about dogs...maybe she was a whisperer
maybe whose dog and whose kid...at most
folks here do not realize it is still not against the law everywhere to leave a kid in a car briefly...as in gas or a coke stop
and these laws are very very new
Florida dates to around 1990...I recall it...no kids under some age left in vehicle period
it’s common sense...heat...dangerous area...car unlocked...etc...too much time...out of eyesight..
I grew up 55 years ago...when convenience stores were pull ups...open in front and some had curb service
then we went to 7-11 type stores
and now it’s the big gas-food-drink counter stores....
the latter would be harder to keep kids in car in eyesight
i have 5 from 5-23
as one would get older they could watch...say at 10 or so
I wonder what freepers think is youngest kids can be left home alone or walk to school or store etc
depends on area..I’m fairly rural now
I have no fear leaving my children guarded by my dogs...none whatsoever...they are very formidable
it got to 88 here on Sunday...we were at Cracker barrel..naturally right?.. and I noticed someone had left a big dog (Pyrenees...we have a lot of them here as pasture lords) in their truck.....panting....I did not like it much and debated going inside and saying something but I wasn’t sure...what if they just went in for takeout
so I waited...sure enough...it was takeout