Car Lockout in Greensboro, NC

Anyone inside comes first

If a child, a pet or anyone who cannot get out is locked in the car, call 911 now rather than waiting for a locksmith. NOAA describes North Carolina summers as very warm and the climate as humid, and a closed car in the sun heats well beyond the air outside it. A winter night can be dangerous in the other direction.

Event lots and city streets

The Greensboro Coliseum Complex has more than 6,000 on-site parking spaces. After an event, a lot full of similar cars and a crowd heading out make a locked car hard to find again, so note the lot, any row marker and a building entrance you can see, and stay near the car.

On city streets, Greensboro Code Section 16-163 makes it unlawful to leave a vehicle parked where official traffic-control devices indicate no parking during snow removal. The state averages about 5 inches of snow a year, so look for posted signs after any snowfall, and if your car is on a posted street, put that first in your request.

A car the city has immobilized is a different matter. Under Section 16-78, the police chief or a designee may wheel-lock, or tow and impound, an illegally parked vehicle with three or more unpaid parking tickets overdue for 90 days. Release goes through the city, and the code says the city is not responsible for damage from unauthorized attempts to release or move it. This is general information, not legal advice.

Details for the request

For a car in Greensboro, it helps to have:

• the Coliseum lot and a landmark, or the street address or nearest cross streets
• whether a snow-removal no-parking sign is posted where the car sits
• year, make, model and color
• whether the keys are visible inside, and whether the car has push-button start
• that you can show photo ID, and whether the registration is in the glove box

If the key is lost rather than locked inside, see car key replacement. Lockouts are described on the car lockout page.