A senator in the United States has proposed an amendment to an existing bill, which would protect citizens from lawsuits if they break into a vehicle to rescue an animal in danger.
State Senator Kay Kirkpatrick came up with the idea after studying if laws were needed to regulate service and support animals, AJC reports. During her research, Kirkpatrick discovered that there was no protection from a lawsuit for someone saving an animal locked in a vehicle.
“I started noticing that there was nothing in there for someone trying to rescue an animal in distress,” she said.
According to Kirkpatrick, the amendment adds language to an existing law protecting those that break into cars to rescue children. The amended bill would require any animal rescuer to immediately call 911 after breaking in to be immune from civil liability.
A similar amendment that would make law enforcement officers not liable for breaking the window of a vehicle to rescue an animal or a person has been proposed by Senator Michael Rhett.
News about these bills come shortly after Tesla announced that it will introduce a ‘Dog Mode’ in its vehicles, which will turn on the air conditioner and play music to ensure pets remain safe when left in a car.
A plethora of automakers have also started to implement safety systems in new vehicles that determine if a child has been left in a vehicle when front-seat occupants have left.
