At least 41 children have died already this year after being left in cars that became too hot, according to Kids and Cars President Janette Fennell. USA Today has just reported that August was the deadliest month on record for deaths in hot autos.
Safety advocates Consumer Federation of America and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety have joined Kids and Cars in calling on Congress to require auto manufacturers to install warning systems that would prevent babies from being inadvertently left behind by distracted parents.
Until such reminders are in place, the onus is on those who drive with children to not forget that little ones are back there. While this is pretty much impossible when you've got older children, if you've got a younger child or infant who falls asleep in the backseat, you are distracted and/or don't always have the child in the car with you, it's not difficult to imagine it happening. For those readers who blame the issue on irresponsible parenting, please read the Pulitzer Prize-winning story in the Washington Post that reports on how easily this can happen to even the most intelligent, responsible parents
Our Cars blog offers these tips:
- Never leave a kid alone in a car. In the summer, there are significant risks, with the interior temperature rising quickly, and children being particularly vulnerable to temperature changes. Beyond temperature, there are security concerns and risk that a child could disengage a parking brake or otherwise move the vehicle.
- Check your car before you leave, especially if you have a change in your normal routine. To avoid accidentally leaving a child in the car, some people use a stuffed animal in the front seat as a reminder that a child is in the rear. You can also put an essential item like your purse or briefcase in the back seat, so you know you have to open the back door before leaving the car..
- Lock up your car. To avoid children playing in the car when it is unattended, keep it locked with the windows up when you are not using it.
- Look around. If you are in a parking lot, casually look around to see if any children are left in vehicles. If so, take action and call 911 immediately.
—Desiree Ferenczi
We seem to want to spend more effort and more money on technologies that will protect us from stupidity. Get a clue...there will never be enough money to solve this problem. We have become a society that is too easily distracted by our own superficial personal priorities. Can there ever be anything more important than the lives of our own children? Technology can never be a replacement for common sense!
I have to agree with the first commenter. Technology cannot overcome stupidity.
I once came across a toddler who was screaming in the back seat of a locked car on a hot day, in a the parking lot of a gas station/convenience store. We were about to break the window but sent someone into store to see if the parents were there. They were and took their time getting to the car to comfort their child. We were told firmly to leave and that he was asleep when they left, which in their eyes made leaving him in the car OK. Technology cannot help them
Mark, I think you should read an article called "Fatal Distraction" from the Washington Post. Gene Weingarten won a Pulitzer Prize this year for this feature writing. It might help you better understand the issue before you make snap judgments.
"Get a clue...there will never be enough money to solve this problem"
These tragedies DO happen to good parents, I know many of them. It is a failure of memory, not love, not responsibility.
"Technology can never be a replacement for common sense!"
If you think that we will never be able to prevent these tragedies from happening because parents will never change...then technology is the ONLY solution. Think about it. It never ceases to amaze me how many people jump on the web, hide behind screen names and give their worthless opinions without knowing anything about what they are commenting on. Do your homework Mark! Research what memory specialists have said and then get back with us. Thanks
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