Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol Offers Car Advice

Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol might not be able to give you all the advice on how to get your 1993 Toyota running, but he would like to offer advice to anyone entering an unfamiliar vehicle or ride share.

In the third quarter of 2020, 78 million people worldwide used the Uber app on a monthly basis. Lyft has 30 million riders and 2 million drivers across the US and Canada. Needless to say, American's are enjoying the ability to take advantage of ride share programs. Sometimes those rideshares can be scary when you get inside a vehicle of someone you don't know. These companies do an amazing job of vetting their drivers, so usually you don't have to worry. If you're ridding with a stranger from a bar, restaurant, or any other event, keep these tips in mind.

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Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol's tip is this- Before getting inside the vehicle, check the positioning of the child safety lock.

If a predator wants to take advantage of a passenger, one of the things they may do is enable the child safety lock in the back seat. When these are on, the passenger has no way of opening the door and escaping the vehicle.

If the lock is on, Maciol says do not get in the car. This disables you from opening the door from the inside out, and you would be trapped.

In order to locate it, open the rear door and look for a lever. The switch or twist lock is usually near the latch mechanism. This is where the child safety lock is located in most vehicles. Take a look at these helpful photos to find it: