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Will Warning Devices Help Prevent Kids from Being Left behind in Cars?

The month of August saw a terrible record being set.  During this month, the number of children who died from suffocation after they were left behind in cars, was the highest on record.   This summer, 41 children died after they were left behind in cars.  In fact, the year 2010 has been a terrible year for parents, California injury lawyers, and safety advocates who have long called for devices that help alert parents and caregivers to the fact that there is a child in the car.

Safety advocates are now urging Congress to get automakers to install warning devices in cars that can alert parents to the fact that a child has been left behind.  The tragedy is that very few of these terrible accidents are caused because the parent was willfully negligent or careless.  Most of the time, these accidents are the result of mistakes made by parents, who truly love their kids.  Most of these accidents are caused by distracted or stressed parents.  Unfortunately, the temperature inside a car can rise steadily even on cool days.  During a normal summer day, the temperature inside the car can rise by as much as 19° during a 10-minute period.  That is an increase of 43° an hour.  Even during cooler days, the temperature inside will rise much quicker than you know, placing a child at serious risk of exhaustion and death.

It’s not as if we don’t have warning devices of other kinds already in place in cars.  Chimes warn a motorist when all occupants of the car are not buckled in, and something similar to this could warn a motorist that a child is still buckled in the car.

A number of safety groups are adding their weight to this cause.  The Consumer Federation of America and the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety are pushing Congress to include language that requires warning chimes to remind drivers of children in cars.  In fact, the advocates are proposing that the requirements be included in the new auto safety legislation.

There’s bound to be plenty of consternation along the lines of “why can’t parents be more careful with their own kids?” These calls for more technology to alert parents and caregivers about kids in cars, does not mean that parents can afford to be complacent.  The chimes and warnings are not meant to be a substitute for parental attention.  Unfortunately, in these troubled times, it’s much more common to find parents working two jobs, and therefore distracted.  Stressed parents are more likely to make fatal errors like this.

When we have warning chimes that alert a motorist that a child is not buckled in, it makes equal sense to warn him that the same child needs to be unbuckled and removed from the car.  In the meantime, parents must avoid leaving a child in a car for any period of time, and must check the car before they leave.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of personal injuries. Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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