[santosh.s]

Originally Posted by varunroy

If an adult needs to open the rear door, while the child lock is ON, all he needs to do is roll down his window and open it by its outer handle. I am sure one could put that extra effort for the sake of safety of our little ones.

So long....

Some cars do not let us roll them down completely, may be only up to 2/3rd making it difficult to reach the outer handle (as an additional child safety measure??) Even if it does open fully, then it can defeat the purpose of safety if kids imitate you and put that extra effort themselves... which is very much likely to happen!

[varunroy]

The only cars I know of are the old Premier Padminis, where the rear windows don't come down fully but more than half way down. I also know that what I am suggesting is not a fool proof procedure to safety but just an option to used occasionally.

What you have reflected is defenitely a possibility but I am sure the driver/ elders can keep an eye on the kids. I could also be wrong here because I have seen so many Parents walking with thier kids holding hands and in most cases the kids are on the outer side ( traffic side)of the walk paths rather than on the inside for safety reasons. Its plain common sense, but then thats what is uncommon.

So long....

[santosh.s]

Originally Posted by varunroy

The only cars I know of are the old Premier Padminis, where the rear windows don't come down fully but more than half way down.

baleno's rear windows are also like that... not sure whether to count that fact as an advantage or disadvantage. Sales guy had told me that it is a limitation intended to accommodate large tubular side impact bar...but I didn't really believe in him, he could have just bluffed something Because it sounds strange as it applies only to rear windows, not front ones. While reading your posts I "guessed", may be it was designed so to improve effectiveness of child locks

[nitinbhag]

Originally Posted by varunroy

. You just can't take a chance with child safety. The best of technology has its drawbacks, so I think the present system is very reliable as this would make the driver more and more aware of his responsibilities.
I am sure one could put that extra effort for the sake of safety of our little ones.
So long....

Exactly... The primary requirements of a safety system are 1. Simplicity and 2. fail-safe..
All the options being discussed here about child locks - complicate the system. Not a good idea when you are dealing with the precious ones.

[coolaks7]

hey cant we unlock it by rolling down the windows and pulling the lever from outside to unlock the door. although i dont have one but i am not sure abt that

[soccer]

Hey coolaks, it appears that you read only the first and the last post. Theres something inbetween too and I think you should scan these before posting.

God bless.

[santosh.s]

nimish, thanks for clarifications. that makes sense, front doors have almost straight vertical edges on both hinge as well as handle side whereas rear doors don't. Yesterday I actually tried opening rear doors from inside (in baleno). though the window is partially blocked by glass even in the lowermost position, it does not hinder since the area near handle is opened completely... no inconvenience at all

sharath, looks like this is the simplest & easiest way to work around with existing systems. but kids should be forbidden to practice that, it would be good to make use of window locks coupled with child locks

[sharathjeppu]

Originally Posted by santosh.s

nimish, thanks for clarifications. that makes sense, front doors have almost straight vertical edges on both hinge as well as handle side whereas rear doors don't. Yesterday I actually tried opening rear doors from inside (in baleno). though the window is partially blocked by glass even in the lowermost position, it does not hinder since the area near handle is opened completely... no inconvenience at all

sharath, looks like this is the simplest & easiest way to work around with existing systems. but kids should be forbidden to practice that, it would be good to make use of window locks coupled with child locks

Santosh, the Baleno's handles are a little different from the Swift's. It requires an upward movement. Try it with a swift which requires and outward movement, and you will realize that it is not easy. (Which I think is how it should be)

Look at another situation. I am travelling with my kids in the Back seat and so I have the child lock on. It starts to rain. I have to pick up a couple of Adults (Wife plus her friend). I open the central lock and they are able to easily get in. I have to drop off one of them at his/her home. The options are ...

1. I get off the driver's seat, go over to the opposite passenger side and open the door.

2. Alternatively, I have to roll down the window and expect the lady to try and open the door from inside!! Not practical at all.

Wouldn't it be very simple for me to just have a switch by which I can temporaily unlock the child lock from inside? As soon as the door is shut, it should get activated again.

The present design of child lock is very useful if no adults travel in the back seat at all. For example, perhaps in a typical American family where every one owns cars, the children always sit in the rear and the husband and wife in the front. It makes perfect sense here. Also, they have no parking constraints like we have in India. It may be next to impossible to find a decent point where one can park a car to offload a passenger. If you have to drop your wife off on MG road in Bangalore in the morning at 9:00 AM, you will probably know what I mean

Cheers

[DRC]

I am not drawing any conclusions, but looks like this thread seems to advocate the present system, for the reason that simplicity is safe/fail proof (if I can go a step ahead). However, I beg to differ. Had that been the case, cars would not have gotten so complex yet reliable.

I believe, the feature is not provided because no body asked for it. OR there may be a law against it in some country where cars sell more and the same mechanism is bestowed upon us.

Hooking the child lock to a solenoid is as simple as any central locking system and can be easily done.

[santosh.s]

Originally Posted by sharathjeppu

Santosh, the Baleno's handles are a little different from the Swift's. It requires an upward movement. Try it with a swift which requires and outward movement, and you will realize that it is not easy. (Which I think is how it should be)

You may be right. my guesswork about half open rear windows turns out to be absolutely wrong

Wouldn't it be very simple for me to just have a switch by which I can temporaily unlock the child lock from inside? As soon as the door is shut, it should get activated again.

I agree, this is exactly what I had suggested in post #14

Originally Posted by DRC

but looks like this thread seems to advocate the present system, for the reason that simplicity is safe/fail proof (if I can go a step ahead). However, I beg to differ. Had that been the case, cars would not have gotten so complex yet reliable.

Absolutely! There should not be any harm in complicating safety features as long as they are designed with due care (not by cutting corners) and made fool proof against most likely failures. For example, in our case the child lock should behave favourably (remain locked) if there happens to be a permanent short or open circuit due to an electrical malfunctioning. Also consider this situation- you trigger the unlock button, but the door is not actually opened and then you forget to lock it back... now the system should lock itself after a small timeout period. Actual designers should think much beyond this

Brake assist systems and power steerings are good examples of quite complex yet reliable, safe and foolproof devices. Because they keep functioning normally (though not optimally) in case of common problems until it gets fixed. Additionally they might even alert you through an indicator.

[riteshpawar]

I drive a Ford Figo ZXi (Diesel) and there is no auto child safety lock. My previous Wagon-R VXi had a child lock activator on the driver's side, on the door just below the power window buttons. When activated all the doors would get locked centrally and only the driver can operate the doors and power windows.

This disadvantage in the Ford Figo has got me into trouble more than 5 times on the highway.

My 18 month old has learnt to open to the doors and windows. While on the highway he finds it a thrill to open the door while on high speeds. On two occasions I had apply emergency brakes to skid halt the car before my son could fall off the car.

Does anyone around here know any Child Lock unit available in the market that I can get installed in the car ???

[bblost]

Originally Posted by riteshpawar

I drive a Ford Figo ZXi (Diesel) and there is no auto child safety lock. My previous Wagon-R VXi had a child lock activator on the driver's side, on the door just below the power window buttons. When activated all the doors would get locked centrally and only the driver can operate the doors and power windows.

This disadvantage in the Ford Figo has got me into trouble more than 5 times on the highway.

My 18 month old has learnt to open to the doors and windows. While on the highway he finds it a thrill to open the door while on high speeds. On two occasions I had apply emergency brakes to skid halt the car before my son could fall off the car.

Does anyone around here know any Child Lock unit available in the market that I can get installed in the car ???

and your answer appears in

Originally Posted by anilisanil

I have a good news and a bad news. The good news is that yes you can, bad news is that it is only for rear doors (refer child locks in user manual).

If you suspect an adult to open the door from inside during motion, do not let him/her sit in the front.

P.S: The locking feature from inside is deliberately disabled for safety; to avoid jammed locks in case of emergencies! hope that helped!

By the way, if you are travelling with a child, please get a nice child seat.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...seat-kids.html

[adilj]

According to me the system should work like this besides the normal mechanical child lock on each door:

1) there should be a button on drivers side that enables and disables the child lock for the rear cars.
2) when there is a kid in the car they just enable it and then there is complete peace of mind.

AND/OR

MORE HI-TECH:
Fit there rear with weight sensors on all the rear seat (say three). If there is a person on the seat the weight sensor will record its weight and pass it to the system. Following cases will occur
1) No of sensors passing weight = 1
Total Weight > 40Kgs
> Adult in CAR CHILD LOCK DISABLED
2) No of sensors passing weight = 1
Total Weight < 40Kgs
> CHILD IN CAR CHILD LOCK ENABLED
3) No of sensors passing weight > 1
Total Weight > 40Kgs
Individual weigth (From sensors) < 40 Kg each
> CHILD IN CAR CHILD LOCK ENABLED
4) No of sensors passing weight > 1
Total Weight > 40Kgs
Individual weigth (From sensors) > 40 Kg each
> ADULTS IN CAR CHILD LOCK DISABLED

Some people might suggest what happens if the electric system fails:

Well the same thing can happen with the central locking (which can be overridden with the mechanical lock on each door) then in that case they can roll down the windows and open the car... But if the electricals are gone then there is a possiblity that the power window might not also work then just break glass. Cause if the electricals have gone means there is an accident or you are submerged in water or battery dead. For the LAST case the driver can unlock the door for you from the outside. For the other two cases it is better to break the glass if you are alone or jsut ask some one to open the door.

There are some flaws in the LAST PART where the electrical fails. Now this system will make everyone happy.

Now whoever has connections with the auto industry fellows and finds this useful can pitch this forward or try implementing it on your own.

Best of Luck to the fellow who is planning to do it on his own

[Nav-i-gator]

Opening this thread again for one query:

I shitched on the mechanical child lock lever on rear doors of my chevy beat car. Then, when I tried opening the right side rear door, the door handle snapped (the spring or the lever which is connected to the handle broke I think). So, I am not able to open the rear right side door from outside as well as from Inside now. I know, I will be going for replacement of the door handle when time permits. But is there any way I can open that door now? It is a pain to go around the car to the left rear door for placing/picking things from rear seats.

[thoma]

Don't know if this is the right thread to post this piece of news from a Malayalam daily.



Translating for non-malayalam readers.

"Government has decided to do away with child lock in cars from next July. This is in wake of the increasing incidents of women being trapped and harassed in the rear seats."