Categories:
Hot Cars - Latest News
Despite Prevention Efforts, Hot-Car Casualties Are Rising
Last year 51 children died of vehicular heatstroke in the U.S., an unsettling record that comes as efforts to prevent hot-car deaths have escalated. The latest tally was reached last month when the cause of death for two girls in Clay County, Mo., in July was confirmed to be vehicular heatstroke. Last year’s total surpassed the previous record of 49 deaths set in 2010, according to KidsAndCars.org, a child-safety advocacy group. Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash vehicular deaths for children younger than 15, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Lorraine Complains: Kids are still being left behind in cars and it needs to stop
It may be tempting to let her sleep, but leaving a child in the car is a risky proposition. In May of last year, Shaun Pennell drove to work and parked his car. His day was normal until 5:15, when his life blew apart forever. He had forgotten to drop off Wyatt, his three-year-old son, at daycare on his way to work. The child died of hyperthermia.
Alabama company patents device to prevent hot car deaths
A technology company in Huntsville, Ala., has won a patent for a device its inventors say could prevent these nightmares from becoming real. The device patented on Jan. 1 is called Payton’s Charm, and it’s about the size of a garage door opener. It works by detecting the presence of carbon dioxide inside a closed vehicle. CO2 is the gas living things exhale when they breathe. If the baby’s in the car and breathing, Payton’s Charm will detect the CO2 and call you on the phone. The message: Something’s in the car and may need help.
'You live in hell every day': The tragedy of forgetting your child in the car
At the hospital, while holding her son's lifeless body for the final time, Raelyn Balfour made a promise to her nine-month-old: his death would not be in vain. While driving to work on the morning of March 30, 2007 in Charlottesville, Va., Balfour forgot to drop off her child Bryce at the babysitter's. Later that day, he died of hyperthermia in the parking lot of her workplace.
University of Alabama engineers develop solution to child heat deaths in cars
An average of 37 children die each year in the United States from being trapped inside a hot car, and engineering researchers at The University of Alabama have crafted a solution to prevent these tragic accidents. A patent-pending device can alert a cell phone when a human or animal is inside a parked vehicle getting too hot. It was developed by UA students from a concept devised by Dr. Timothy A. Haskew, department head and UA professor of electrical and computer engineering, The device monitors carbon dioxide levels from human breath inside a vehicle along with temperature and car movement, using computer algorithms to determine when to alert a cell phone.
