As we reach the end of July and summer temperatures start to soar, once again tales of children being left in hot cars begin to surface. Just a few daysago, bystanders broke the window of a car in a Kansas shopping center parking lot after they noticed a two-year-old child inside. The temperaturethat day reached 91 degrees that day, with a heat index of 101. Fortunately, the child in that incident was saved and taken to a hospital for treatment.Many kids are not that lucky.
According to an ABC Newsreport citing KidsandCars.org, 10 children have already died in hot cars this year. While some children areleft intentionally "for a few minutes" while parents run into a store, others become trapped while playing in vehicles or are accidentally locked inside.Even singer Carrie Underwood tweeted recently that she had to break a window of her car when her dogs accidentally triggered the locks, locking herbaby inside.
In Kansas, the toddler was rescued by a woman who smashed the car window with a tire iron. However, in almost every state, a person can be sued for breakingthe window of another person's vehicle--even to rescue a child. Only four states have "Good Samaritan" laws that protect people who smash windows tosave kids in cars. Oklahoma recently became the fourth this spring when legislators passed and Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law HB 1902.
In many cases, bills passed in Oklahoma do not become law until November 1 of the year in which they were passed. House Bill 1902, however, took effectimmediately when it was passed in May.
The law is designed to give civil immunity to people who break car windows and remove children from vehicles, when the act is committed in an effort tosave the child from serious harm.
Obviously, the law does not give carte blanche to start smashing windows and stealing children, but it does protect from lawsuits the people who are actingin the child's best interest in an emergency situation:
A. A person shall be immune from civil liability for any damage resulting from the forcible entry of a motor vehicle for the purpose of removing a child from the motor vehicle if the person:
1. Determines the motor vehicle is locked or there is otherwise no reasonable method for the child to exit the motor vehicle;
2. Has a good-faith belief that forcible entry into the motor vehicle is necessary because the child is in imminent danger of suffering harm if not immediately removed from the motor vehicle and, based upon the circumstances known to the person at the time, the belief is a reasonable one;
3. Has contacted the local law enforcement agency, the fire department or the 911 emergency telephone service prior to forcibly entering the motor vehicle;
4. Places a notice on the motor vehicle windshield with the person's contact information, the reason the entry was made, the location of the child and that the authorities have been notified;
5. Remains with the child in a safe location, out of the elements but reasonably close to the motor vehicle, until law enforcement, fire or other emergency responder arrives; and
6. Used no more force to enter the motor vehicle and remove the child from the motor vehicle than is necessary under the circumstances.
Oklahoma is also one of 19 states that prohibit leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle. The Forget-Me-Not Vehicle Safety Act(47 O.S. � 11-1119) states that any person responsible for the care of a child aged 6 or younger (or a vulnerable adult) may not leave the childunattended, defined as "beyond a person�s direct ability to care for or come to the aid of the unaccompanied person." To do so is a misdemeanor punishableby a fine.
