As temperatures soar, it’s inevitable that we will hear about a child – probably several – being left unattended in a hot vehicle – and dying as a result.
According to KidsandCars.org on average, 38 children a year die after being left unattended in a hot vehicle. Last year, 31 children died, which was down from 44 the year before. But on average we haven’t seen that number change much from year to year, despite all the attention that has been given to the issue in recent years.
Each week NKyTribune’s “resident riskologist” Keven Moore shines the light on America’s riskiest behaviors – from unsafe driving practices to workplace stress to common home accidents. And in the process, he provides the information needed to help people play it a little safer.
If you are a parent, you probably think you could never forget your child is in the backseat, no matter how busy you are or how much is on your mind. Well, think again.
In well over 50 percent of cases involving children who died after being left unattended in a hot vehicle, the person responsible did forget. It has happened to a teacher, dentist, social worker, police officer, nurse, clergyman, soldier, and even a rocket scientist. It can happen to anyone.
That’s contrary to the picture we tend to paint of the neglectful parent who leaves a child behind on purpose, for whatever selfish reason. Only 17 percent of such tragic incidents are a result of intentional behavior. (About 30 percent of the cases result from a child entering an unlocked vehicle to play and becoming trapped.)
The simple fact is that even the most loving, attentive parents and caregivers can become forgetful, and for a variety of reasons. New parents are oftentimes exhausted from the lack of sleep, stress and change in routine. When you add on other responsibilities and distractions, anyone can momentarily forget about a sleeping baby in the backseat of a vehicle.
There are products available, such as proximity sensors, the serve as reminders. But there are plenty of things you can do yourself to prevent such tragedies:
‣ Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.
‣ Remember to “Look Before You Lock” – Get in the habit of always opening the back door to check the back seat before leaving your vehicle. Make sure no child has been left behind.
‣ Create a reminder to check the back seat. By putting something you’ll need like your cell phone, handbag, employee ID or brief case, etc., in the back seat so that you have to open the back door to retrieve that item every time you park.
‣ Keep a large stuffed animal in the child’s car seat. When the child is placed in the car seat, put the stuffed animal in the front passenger seat. It’s a visual reminder that the child is in the back seat.
‣ Make a strict policy with your child care provider that if your child does not show up as scheduled; they will contact you immediately to ensure your child is safe. In turn, you will agree to always call the childcare provider if your child will not be there on a particular day or time as scheduled.
‣ Keep vehicles locked at all times, even in driveways or garages. Ask home visitors, child care providers and neighbors to do the same.
‣ Keep car keys and remote openers out of reach of children.
‣ If a child goes missing, immediately check the inside passenger compartments and trunks of all vehicles in the area very carefully, even if they are locked. A child may lock the car doors after entering a vehicle on their own, but may not be able to unlock them.
‣ If you see a child alone in a vehicle, get involved. Call 911 immediately. If the child seems hot or sick, get them out of the vehicle as quickly as possible.
‣ Be especially careful during busy times, schedule changes and periods of crisis or holidays. This is when most tragedies occur.
‣ Use drive‐thru services when available (restaurants, banks, pharmacies, dry cleaners, etc.) and pay for gas at the pump.
Remember all accidents are preventable, as long as we have enough resolve, dedication, technology and effort.
Be safe, my friends.
Keven Moore works in risk management services. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Kentucky, a master’s from Eastern Kentucky University and 25-plus years of experience in the safety and insurance profession. He lives in Lexington with his family and works out of both the Lexington and Northern Kentucky offices. Keven can be reached at kmoore@roeding.com.
To read more from Keven Moore, click here.
The 1st half of this article is right on the money. On the various devices, I am an amateur inventor living in Northern KY who also came up with a device to prevent these deaths called the Backseat Baby Alarm. As such, I keep a close watch on what is out there and think the following is important to be noted.
The IAlert Carseaat by Tomy received very negative reviews both by Consumer Reports and on Amazon customer reviews. CR said, “I often had to restart the application multiple times to establish connection. I found myself so frustrated with trying to get the device to establish connection that I no longer wanted to use the feature. Further, it did not always detect the weight of the smaller dummy (7.5 pounds) and sometimes it would randomly lose connection or falsely notify me that the child was out of his seat.”. In fact, Tomy has discontinued production of the product. .
On the Child Minder, NHTSA had the Children’s Hosp of Philadelphia to test and review it and 2 other devices in 2012. Again, very negative reviews. That report found it to be so unreliable and glitchy that NHTSA recommended parents NOT use it as it gave a false sense of security.
If there any parents who are looking for a device, one that is reliable, just for the peace of mind, you can see a demo video of what I came up with at http://www.backseatbabyalarm.com