Marissa Jaret Winokur / Open car door in a parking lot

[Peggy Gus]

Even if she doesn't have OnStar, most new cars above a certain dollar value come with *something*. Luxury brands, for example, usually have complimentary roadside assistance. They come to you - often from the nearest dealership - and do what needs to be done. If it's an emergency and the dealership isn't close, they pay a nearby mechanic (or have a standing agreement with a nearby mechanic). I'm just guessing that she's not exactly driving a junker.

You said it better, this was what I was trying to say.

[Onyx_TKD]

Even if she doesn't have OnStar, most new cars above a certain dollar value come with *something*. Luxury brands, for example, usually have complimentary roadside assistance. They come to you - often from the nearest dealership - and do what needs to be done. If it's an emergency and the dealership isn't close, they pay a nearby mechanic (or have a standing agreement with a nearby mechanic). I'm just guessing that she's not exactly driving a junker.

Basically like AAA? That was mentioned in the article. Winokur insisted on calling 911 instead, because she was sure it would take too long.

“Call 911, call 911,” I start screaming. The secretary comes out and says, “Call AAA.” I just know that will take too long. I cry, “Call 911!” I start losing my cool … so now my son and I are both crying. I tell the secretary, “I’ll just break a window,” thinking that would make her realize how serious I am. It works! I hear the sirens coming.

[Rosey]

I don't think so. I thought AAA was more like an agency of mechanics that they would contact for you and then work it out. Plus you have to have an AAA account before the problem presents itself, don't you? Or you have to create an account when it happens if you don't already have one?

Luxury car complimentary roadside assistance comes with buying the car. It's a guaranteed service that, wherever you are, they can and will help you in a reasonably short period of time. If it's an emergency, they will be that much faster. They already have the people in place. Also, because most luxury car lines have "lower" (sotospeak) lines as well, there is almost always a dealership nearby that can help.

AAA is nice, but I think luxury roadside assistance is a you-get-what-you-pay-for situation. If I paid $50,000 for a basic four-door sedan model of a car (meaning a luxury line sedan), I'm not looking for a break in price when I need a tire changed on the side of the road. I'm lookiing for much more.

Lexus, for example, will not just send help. Let's say Winokur had broken the window. Lexus would send someone to do a temporary repair, take the car away, and leave a Lexus rental car in its place. You would not be charged for the on-location temporary repair (if you needed the window covered to protect the interior from rain or something), the towing, or the delivery of the rental car. You would only be charged for the repairs and the use of the rental car itself.

[guihong]

Silly question, but who is Marissa Jaret Winokur? 

[Onyx_TKD]

I don't think so. I thought AAA was more like an agency of mechanics that they would contact for you and then work it out. Plus you have to have an AAA account before the problem presents itself, don't you? Or you have to create an account when it happens if you don't already have one?

Luxury car complimentary roadside assistance comes with buying the car. It's a guaranteed service that, wherever you are, they can and will help you in a reasonably short period of time. If it's an emergency, they will be that much faster. They already have the people in place. Also, because most luxury car lines have "lower" (sotospeak) lines as well, there is almost always a dealership nearby that can help.

AAA is nice, but I think luxury roadside assistance is a you-get-what-you-pay-for situation. If I paid $50,000 for a basic four-door sedan model of a car (meaning a luxury line sedan), I'm not looking for a break in price when I need a tire changed on the side of the road. I'm lookiing for much more.

Lexus, for example, will not just send help. Let's say Winokur had broken the window. Lexus would send someone to do a temporary repair, take the car away, and leave a Lexus rental car in its place. You would not be charged for the on-location temporary repair (if you needed the window covered to protect the interior from rain or something), the towing, or the delivery of the rental car. You would only be charged for the repairs and the use of the rental car itself.

You're correct that you would need a membership in advance and that the service would be performed through a local mechanic rather than a AAA-owned service. Basically, you would call AAA and tell them you were locked out of the car, and they would contact the closest local AAA service provider and send them to help you. The speed of response varies based on how far it is to the nearest AAA-approved mechanic/other service provider and how busy they are; I've never had to use it for a real emergency, but I suspect that time-sensitive issues like a baby being locked in the car would get moved up the priority list (plus, they usually give a estimated wait time, so 911 could still be called if necessary).

My point in bringing up AAA was that an OnStar-type remote unlock didn't seem to be an option and calling a roadside assistance provider for help had been suggested during this incident; Winokur simply insisted on 911 instead. I assume if she did not have AAA, but had luxury car roadside assistance, that the AAA suggestion would have prompted her to call the whatever roadside assistance option she had.

[bookworm317]

Silly question, but who is Marissa Jaret Winokur? 

She's an actress. She was Tracy in the Broadway version of Hairspray. And she did Dancing with the Stars a few years ago.

[FoxPaws]

Silly question, but who is Marissa Jaret Winokur? 

She's an actress. She was Tracy in the Broadway version of Hairspray. And she did Dancing with the Stars a few years ago.

She's currently co-hosting a talk show called The Talk with a bunch of other women. There is a long list of TV and film credits in supporting roles here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0935441/

[Twik]

I'm rather puzzled about the panic here. I know we aren't supposed to leave babies in cars - but they don't reach dangerous heat levels in the few seconds it seemed to take her to start panicking. "Excuse me, but could I borrow your phone to call 911?" would probably have worked better than screaming at everyone.

There's something very drama-queenish about throwing a complete meltdown when the baby was in no *immediate* danger. It's not like the car was on fire.

[kingsrings]

ITA. And I hope she never has to deal with a REAL emergency with her child if that is how she acts with just this. She'd be no help at all!

[Punky B.]

I have AAA- when I locked my keys in the car with my groceries (doh!) they moved me up on the list and I only had to wait about 20 minutes.  I can only imagine a locked-in baby would be a 1st priority and a very short wait time.

If she was really flailing and panicking I would be nervous getting close enough to help her.  She might lash out.

[flowersintheattic]

I have AAA- when I locked my keys in the car with my groceries (doh!) they moved me up on the list and I only had to wait about 20 minutes.  I can only imagine a locked-in baby would be a 1st priority and a very short wait time.

If she was really flailing and panicking I would be nervous getting close enough to help her.  She might lash out.

This was my thought, too. The only problem with AAA would be if she didn't have a membership or if she didn't have her account number memorized.

I'm with the thought that she probably had some form of luxury car that had a version of OnStar, and I assume that there's some way for them to look you up if you give them the right information. I don't think it's surprising, given the way she was panicking, for the AAA suggestion to not trigger that thought, though. She seems like she wasn't really thinking straight.

[Twik]

ITA. And I hope she never has to deal with a REAL emergency with her child if that is how she acts with just this. She'd be no help at all!

Oh, yes. Can you imagine if there was blood anywhere? 

[It's good to be Queen]

What I really noticed is that she says that none of the other mothers would help her, but then she says taht one mother tried but she was probably just trying to get close to her (to get a good look I think).  Ego much!

Plus, sorry I think the other mothers are going to judge if you roll out of bed and take your child to daycare barefoot and in pajamas.  I'm not saying you have to dress up, but wash your face, pull a brush through your hair and throw on some clothes before leaving the house!

[Wittyone]

What I really noticed is that she says that none of the other mothers would help her, but then she says taht one mother tried but she was probably just trying to get close to her (to get a good look I think).  Ego much!

Plus, sorry I think the other mothers are going to judge if you roll out of bed and take your child to daycare barefoot and in pajamas.  I'm not saying you have to dress up, but wash your face, pull a brush through your hair and throw on some clothes before leaving the house!

Or at least shoes.  That was the part that really threw me off.  She didn't even have flip flops on.

[FoxPaws]

Plus, sorry I think the other mothers are going to judge if you roll out of bed and take your child to daycare barefoot and in pajamas.  I'm not saying you have to dress up, but wash your face, pull a brush through your hair and throw on some clothes before leaving the house!

Feeling judged has as much to do with a person's own self esteem and perspective as it does with what others may or may not be thinking.

If Marissa doesn't want to make time to pull herself together in the mornings, then she needs to have enough confidence in that decision not to care what people think. When you get right down to it, the whole fiasco was a confidence issue: she wasn't comfortable with how she looked, so she felt judged; she didn't believe she could handle the mini crisis, so she panicked and got hysterical; she's not secure in her parenting skills, so she assumes other mommies have ulterior motives.