Toddler's Hot Car Death

Marian
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:24:02 +0000

JMO but I don’t think these cases are ever an accident.

I believe many truly are accidents. In conversations on this topic, I’ve heard several parents say that it almost happened to them, but they realized when they got across the parking lot that their child was still in the car seat.

When my kids were very little, I had an older car without airbags, so I put the car seat in the front. If I had had to put a baby in a rear-facing carseat in the back seat, I can easily see how I could have forgotten whether the child was with me, especially if the baby was sleeping or quiet.

This is a problem that needs a technological fix.

I think car manufacturers should make car seats to go with each model of their cars anyway (this would solve a lot of difficulties with car seat installation because the seats would actually fit). If car seats were accessories designed for use in specific models of cars, it should not be difficult to include a sensor that (1) beeps if there’s any weight in the seat when the engine is turned off and (2) sounds a loud, distinctive alarm, opens the windows, and unlocks the doors if there’s any weight in the seat when the engine is off and the car doors are locked (this assumes that the car doors lock themselves after a minute or two, the way they do on my Hyundai).