<p>What family vehicle holds 8-9 people? One of those small bus things?</p>
<p>Yup. A minivan or large SUV, basically.</p>
<p>Minivan holds 7, I think. At least mine did, back in the day. I am thinking those little bus thingys they use to shuttle to the airport, or from the airport to ski resorts, etc</p>
<p>Jym, you can have an optional 3rd row of seats in some SUVs, like Highlander. </p>
<p>Here ya go…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.suvcarsblog.com/2013/04/22/9-passenger-suvs-guide/”>http://www.suvcarsblog.com/2013/04/22/9-passenger-suvs-guide/</a></p>
<p>I had a 3rd row, But center was captains seats, not a bench, so the kids didnt kill each other. We could fit 3 in the back, 2 in the middle, 2 up front. </p>
<p>thanks, actingmt. rented one of those behemoths once on a ski trip when we had a lof of passengers. Held alot of people, but not much luggage.</p>
<p>Don’t know if it has been mentioned upthread, but I saw a news report where a college student (maybe even high school) just patented a device in response to all the recent carseat deaths. Basically if the harness is latched and the temperature reaches a certain level, an alarm goes off on your key or keychain.</p>
<p>People I know with really large families drive Suburbans. Those things can seat like 10 people. A lot of them have two other regular cars that they drive most of the time. Only need the Suburban when they are all going someplace together. </p>
<p>I believe I read that the father in Kansas had been in the car with just two kids: a 5 yr old and the baby. He and his partner had fostered the baby since shortly after her birth and were hoping to adopt her.</p>
<p>^^^^ So sad. 
</p>
<p>New apps are being developed in order to help stop these tragedies…</p>
<p><a href=“Precious Cargo, Babeep, The Hot Seat apps aim to stop hot car deaths - CBS News”>http://www.cbsnews.com/news/precious-cargo-babeep-the-hot-seat-apps-aim-to-stop-hot-car-deaths/</a></p>
<p>Every time I hear about these hot car deaths, I wonder why there isn’t something like the bell/buzzer that tells you that your keys are in the ignition with door open or you left your headlights on. Why can’t there be a device (that you can de-activate if you don’t have a baby) that plays the first five notes of “Rock -A-Bye-Baby” or says, “Where’s the baby?” or something like that when you open your car door? Or the song could play only if there is a 5+lb weight in the back seat and the driver opens the door? (We already have these devices–lights-- linked to weight/seatbelt use in front seat.) It angers me to think that we have solved the problem of lights being left on/dead battery with a buzzer/bell or lights that turn off automatically. We have backup cameras because people run over their kids/pets/toys in the driveway. . . But every year babies keep dying because they are sleeping quietly in the back seat and forgotten by distracted parents. My son was in an innovation/engineering program and I suggested this project, but he didn’t think it was a good idea. People just want to blame the “stupid/careless” parents. I have 7 kids and I know how this happens. It happened to me twice (luckily only for a few minutes in cool weather) and it happened to my friend’s kid in my driveway–and that was on a hot day for a long time. Fortunately it was an older kid who was able to get out of the seatbelt and open the van door. BTW, I know a lot of big families–most drive 9 passenger Suburbans or 12 passenger vans (that’s what we have, in addition to smaller cars). </p>
<p>Atomom,
People have actually developed these tools (including two NASA engineers who designed an alert system after one of their colleague’s child died in a hot car). The problem is that marketing studies have shown that people won’t buy them because, you know, they are perfect parents who could NEVER possibly under any circumstances make that mistake. The other problem is liability if the device fails.
I wish the government would make it mandatory.</p>
<p>Car manufacturers could work something into the design of the car. I mean you can’t go more than 20 feet without the seatbelt bell going off. Certainly they could engineer something to let you know the baby seat is occupied. </p>
<p>How about a decal/sticker with a picture of a baby ( your baby) on it to put on the window of driver’s door? Maybe a keychain that says “GOT BABY?” Post-it note in the middle of the steering wheel??</p>
<p>Funny, that “seatbelt light” never fails to turn on when I put my bookbag on my passenger seat. . . I agree that something should be built in, so not a separate purchase. </p>
<p>I suspect that this sort of thing happens more often than people would admit–who would admit to being that horrible parent who could forget her own child? I am that horrible parent. (I am also super-vigilant, safety conscious, and my friends/relatives would probably call me overprotective/paranoid.) I’ve also left kids home alone a couple times.</p>
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Of course, a device wouldn’t help in this situation. What were the parents doing for however long it took this child to die in the car? Dad was napping. Where was mom?</p>
<p>Apparently the foster father in the Kansas case had just come home from a trip to his drug dealer. He was inside enjoying his purchase for two hours, with at least one other child present, and then something on TV made him remember. </p>
<p>OMG. Was this the guy we were feeling sorry for earlier in the thread?</p>
<p>Yes, the same sex couple who I believe have 2 adopted sons and several foster children. I guess this would be criminally negligent homicide?</p>