Petrol filling and kids in car

[nosleepforme]

I’m not a driver.
BUT if you fill up petrol and have to pay inside the kiosk, do you need to take your kids in with you? I’d say no. I don’t think that’s called leaving them in the car. I think dh can lock the car a min and pay.
aibu?

yabu = you must remove/unstrap kids and walk across floor to pay
yanbu = who takes kids to pay at the petrol station.

There was a petrol station fire near here - fortunately not nearly as bad as it could have been because the well-trained staff member shut off the fuel tanks immediately.
The cause was a lorry colliding with the building (presumably brakes failed or something). I don't know its trajectory through the forecourt, but possibly a child would have been better protected inside a car than not.

Pay at the pump - can’t think of a single place in years in the uk that doesn’t have it, and if I had kids I would not use the other kind of alone with them, problem solved

I always took mine with me but tbh that was very rare as when I had small children, my ex would always nip out and fill my car up for me. I don't think it's the worst thing though if others do. I just wouldn't myself.

Plan ahead as much as possible so you can fill up alone or use pay at pump. I used to fill up with fuel as I got my food shop.
i wouldn’t leave babies/ kids in the car when it’s been as hot as it has recently but for general weather I would leave them in the car for the 2-3 mins it takes to pay in the shop.

Always take mine with me. I don’t leave them locked in a car anywhere.

so never alone at all, not in the bedroom, not while you nip into another room in the house…. realistically impossible

Normally my DD was asleep. So I left her in the car (AND the doors unlocked shock) so the alarm didnt go off.
If it wasn't a petrol station I could see the car from, and sprint to in under 5 seconds, I'd just leave it until I was alone or could use pay at pump.

Depends on:

age of kids
location of petrol station
How busy it is
if you can visibly see the car from the kiosk

My nearest petrol station doesn't allow children on the forecourt - at all.

ive been shouted at over the tannoy but couldn't leave my DGD in the car as she would have a meltdown as she has a fear/phobia of being left alone. She has autism.

I went into pay and explain why DGD was with me and the lovely lady told me that it was not her problem

You maynot be able to reach her in time

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

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!!

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.

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’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.

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.

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.

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

Just to clarify, he’s never ever taken them on a petrol run. Either I’m with him and am with the kids in the car, or he goes when he’s on his own. So it’s more of a theoretical question

We don’t have that option where we live right now

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 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.

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.

Same

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