Preventing Children From Dying in Hot Cars

Having a kid changed my priorities dramatically, so whenever I hear about a child dying in a hot car, I take it personally. It’s an unthinkable tragedy, and a preventable one at that, which makes it worse.

And since parents won’t stop being stupid, industry is stepping up – major automakers agreed to install systems alerting drivers to the presence of backseat passengers by 2025.

Over the last two decades, more than 800 children (!!!) have died as the result of parental stupidity, 53 of them last year! One is too many. This is an epidemic.

For parents who misjudge how sweltering a car can get, none of this will help. Throw them in jail and burn the key. But failsafes like these will be a godsend for parents who are oblivious (and potentially criminally negligent).

Some systems, like GM’s, provide an audible alert and visual cue on the vehicle’s dashboard to check for backseat passengers. More advanced techniques will use sensors to detect movement – similar to home security systems – and honk the horn or even send alerts to your smart phone. Other systems remember if the backseat was opened at the start of the trip.

The only question, of course, is whether legislation is necessary – according to Reuters, 20 automakers, (representing 98% of all U.S. vehicle sales) voluntarily agreed to install the backseat reminders. A federal mandate could be redundant. But the problem is beyond serious, and companies or government agencies need to act quickly.

Personally, I’m for a free market solution, but I can’t fault parents (the ones not leaving their kids in hot cars) who want mandated action.

Read more on this here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-safety-usa/automakers-to-equip-nearly-all-u-s-vehicles-with-systems-to-avoid-deaths-of-children-in-hot-cars-idUSKCN1VP28E