Toine is three years old.
His parents have a car rental company in Maastricht.
Toine is walking around the company courtyard.
There are several cars. They are waiting for the next renter.
Or they've already been rented out and still need cleaning for the next tenant.
There is no room for playground equipment in the courtyard.
Poor Toine.
He has to make do with parked cars.
But hey.
He'll help his parents a bit.
He opens a door and climbs into the car.
The key is still in the ignition.
First gear, car not on handbrake.
Then the brake can't freeze either.
Beautiful!
Toine only needs to turn the key.
He's seen that often enough when his dad starts a car.
Toine turns the key, and Bang!
He crashes into the car in front of him.
3 years old, and straight away two problems at once.
His father came running out and was terribly frightened.
He immediately starts shouting about paying the excess.
Then he sees that his own son caused the damage.
Ah well, Toine hasn't received enough pocket money yet to pay his excess.
About twenty years have passed.
We no longer leave cars with the keys in the ignition on our forecourt.
At our request, car manufacturers have modified how a car starts. Nowadays, you have to press the clutch pedal before a car will start.
You can therefore perfectly leave your three-year-old to play in a car.
So you don't have any play equipment in your garden either?
To let your children play.
Or, even better: to take your children along and go do something fun instead of just working.
