Car Lockout in Tucson, AZ

The meter keeps running

The city says its meters in the business districts along the Sun Link streetcar corridor carry time limits from 15 minutes to 6 hours, and Sec. 20-229 of the city code says it is unlawful to stay longer than the posted period once signs give notice. Most of the meters are smart meters, and every one can be paid through the GoTucson Parking app, so paying from your phone does not depend on reaching into the locked car. Note the limit on the sign and the time you parked, because waiting for help eats into it.

Someone alive in the car

Dial 911 ahead of any call about a lock. In the National Weather Service's time-lapse demonstration, a parked car reached 94.3°F in just over two minutes. The Service also says deaths of children left in cars can happen at any time of year, not only in summer, and that parents of toddlers should lock their cars even in their own driveway, since a small child can climb into an unlocked one.

For pets, the animal cruelty statute, A.R.S. 13-2910, treats it as a class 1 misdemeanor to leave an animal confined and unattended in a motor vehicle when injury or death is likely, if done intentionally, knowingly or recklessly. It also lets a peace officer, animal control enforcement agent or deputy open the car with reasonable force to get the animal out. Tell the 911 dispatcher that an animal is inside.

Waiting when the car is empty

Tucson's normal high is 101.2°F in June and 100.2°F in July. Stay off the hot asphalt around the car. The Weather Service says the monsoon season typically opens with extreme heat, then brings daily rounds of thunderstorms within days or weeks, so a shop, a lobby or a covered garage level makes a better waiting spot than the roadside.

Details for the request

• which meter block and which curb, or the garage with its level and section
• the time limit on the sign and when you parked
• the car's make, model and color, and whether the keys are visible through the window
• whether it is still running and whether the trunk is latched as well
• who or what is inside, if anyone
• whether your ID and registration are on you or in the car

A key that is lost, not locked in, is a job for car key replacement. The Tucson page adds more on parking and permit blocks.