Petrol filling and kids in car

I pay at pump generally, but prefer to leave them in the car. If I've just got my oldest (8) she tries to come in because she knows there's treats in them there hills.

Greypanda86

can they get hit by a car at home? Can a stranger look in or can they decide to go wandering? (I’d guess the answer is no😉)

For me it depends on the petrol station. If it’s one where the pumps are literally right beside the bit where you go in and pay, can see car from window etc the whole time and could be back to the car in seconds if needed then I would probably just leave mine and keep an eye.

Our local one though is a petrol station/Asda/Subway/Greggs and the pumps are far back behind the car wash spots and the tyre air refill spots, then you have to go right to the back of the shop to pay plus you pay for the Asda at the same place you pay for your fuel so often quite a queue hence I do take my kids in with me. Mine are little though, a toddler and a baby.

Mostlywilliow

If you’d do all of that going shopping, dropping kids to school etc etc then yes that’s what you do!

8 and 10? My 9 year old was cycling to school every day with mates

why on earth ‘probably’, they go to high school when they are 11

All those chocolate bars and sweets deliberately placed close to where people queue to pay 😅

With the way some drivers manoeuvre around petrol station forecourts, leaving young children in the car seems lower risk than not.

I'm in my late 40's but remember being left in the car for the usually short time it took either of my parents to pay for fuel.

My kids are 25, 22, 19

i never once took them in with me, would not have crossed my mind

Or a zombie acopolyse. ...

I think he’s getting a bit old for that sort of stuff now,,.

Aren’t the vast majority of petrol stations s pay at pump? Can’t remember the last time i
ent into a shop to pay!

Kids stay in the car.

in 30+ years of driving and getting petrol I have never seen anyone take kids in with them to pay.

it only happens on MN

Once when my eldest was tiny, I got her out and took her inside. It was a faff, but I couldn’t (and can’t) bring myself to leave them in the car. Less fire, more stranger danger - and yes I do know neither are likely.

Since then I only use pay at pump stations. My husband will usually nip out to top up the cars at our local cheap, non-pay at pump at the weekend anyway.

I think it depends on how old your child/ children are.

I always take my 3yo in to pay though I also prefer pay at pump for this reason.

I've left him in the car once because he was asleep, very small forecourt and I could see there was no queue to pay (glass front so I could watch the car from the till). But I actually felt really guilty about it and then never did it again.

Someone talked about if something went wrong and you took unconscious how would anyone know you've a kid then left in the car which I thought was a decent point. Different if you've a child who's old enough to get out and ask for help if they knew something was wrong but not a child who would be trapped without you.

Ah yes. I’d get out my triple buggy, assemble the seats, clip on the wheels, then unstrap 3 babies, one at a time, with the pram next to the car, and strap them in, then walk across the forecourt, wrestle them into the shop and pay. Then do it all in reverse.

Did I Shite. Nonsense innit.

I Can think of 6 in a 20 mile radius that dont have pay at pump.

But the risk to them crossing the forecourt is far higher than the risk of a car being bumped by another car. Cars are large and more visible than pedestrians. They are far more likely to be hit by a car between leaving their own car and getting to the shop than a car hitting the car they are in.

So just off top of head, they could slip or trip on the way into the shop or inside the shop, trapped fingers in door of shop or car, not be seen by other adults and bashed into, a car could move off or reverse without seeing them among many other things. All probably very unlikely to happen but equally all more likely to happen than a car or petrol pump randomly bursting into flames or a crash kidnapper pinching them from the back seat of the car.

I’ve never taken mine inside even as tiny babies. Come to think of it I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone take their kids inside to pay? Although generally don’t take much notice of others. I don’t tend to lock the car with the kids in as it sets the alarm off. Can usually see the car the whole time while paying.

It's not a massive risk though. If you were to risk assess it properly then leaving in the car would come out at the lowest risk and least likelihood of anything bad happening compared to all the other potential risks for the max 5 mins that they would be in the car.
You cant just say oh the car might catch fire so therefore its a massive risk. It has to be looked at in the overall context of the full risk assessment.

I can't remember ever hearing about a petrol station fire, but I do (because of working in motor insurance mainly) know of hundreds of petrol station bumps. And whilst a bump between two cars at 5mph, a child being hit at that speed could be nasty.

I usually just pay at the pump or fill up when we are all together (so there is another adult in the car) or when I am alone.
Having said that I have occasionally had to go in and leave my youngest in the car. I am not a fan. Got stuck in a queue once and just felt so anxious. Also I can’t lock the kids in my car as it sets the alarms off when they move!!

Never in my life have I seen someone take kids out of the car to pay for petrol.

You maynot be able to reach her in time