Social Question

Dutchess_III's avatar

Why didn't they just call a lock smith?

Asked by Dutchess_III (46807points) July 10th, 2014

This video is going around on fb. There was a dog locked inside a hot car. Someone called the cops, which is fine. But not only the cops showed up, but a firetruck too, and who knows what all else. And they proceeded to start prying the door open with a crow bar and a hammer! I didn’t watch all of it, so that’s all I know.

Surely first responders have those jimmy things that lock smiths have, to unlock a car? If not, why didn’t they just call a lock smith?

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16 Answers

ucme's avatar

Because I was out on call at the time.
Lots of overkill going on in that vid, glad the pooch was okay though.

flip86's avatar

They should have taken the axe to the window. Why pay for a locksmith? Whatever though, they saved the dog, which is what counts.

Dutchess_III's avatar

Are locksmiths still able to unlock a car with a jimmy? Some one said they called Trip A when they locked their keys in a running car, and AA pried open the top of the door with a blood pressure cuff. I can’t for the LIFE of me imagine that that could work!

jca's avatar

Maybe because if they called a locksmith, someone would have to pay for it. The car owner might be broke. Who’s going to pursue him for the payment if someone else fronts it? This way, they teach him a lesson and it’s all included in the day’s pay of the FD and PD.

gondwanalon's avatar

You should have watch the whole video. The Firemen did a great job. They didn’t do any damage to the car door or paint. I would have simply smashed a door side window.

ucme's avatar

The quickest & most effective method of gaining access to a locked vehicle is to pick the lock.
I’d have done the job in under half a minute, no charge either, getting the dog out being reward enough.

dappled_leaves's avatar

There are methods for opening pretty much any type of car without keys – the methods AAA uses are the same that the fire department would use. The blood pressure cuff works on some makes and models; others have different backdoor techniques.

Dutchess_III's avatar

Well, I’m glad they didn’t damage the car (although the guy deserved a damaged car,) but it was a whole lot of over kill to bring in the first responders, IMO.

I used to be a pro at getting into the older model cars with a coat hanger. In college, in the 70’s, my boyfriend had a Super Beetle. One night, at a party, he locked his keys in the car. He and his buddies spent 20 minutes trying to get into it with a coat hanger. I asked a couple of times if I could try. The response was some sort of “Don’t be silly. You’re a woman. You couldn’t possibly figure this out.”
So, I waited. Eventually my bf handed me the hanger. I was in in less than 10 seconds. You can feel where you are with the tips of your fingers. I don’t think most guys pay attention to that.

Dutchess_III's avatar

@dappled_leaves Could you explain the blood pressure thing to me? I’m having a hard time imagining a blood pressure cuff exerting enough force to pry the door open. I also can’t imagine how they get the cuff in position, either.

Dutchess_III's avatar

Running outside to find the lip they said was there!

SecondHandStoke's avatar

Because the breaking of the window serves a punitive purpose in the mind of the emancipator.

It doubles as a holier than thou activist statement for the person’s ego.

The rescue of the dog is merely a pleasant dividend.

GQ.

Dutchess_III's avatar

They didn’t break the window. I didn’t watch it all, but @gondwanalon did.

jca's avatar

@Dutchess_III: They may not have broken the window, but they probably screwed up something with the car when they did what they did to access it.

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