Categories:
Latest News
Unlocking backseat heatstroke deaths
Two summers ago, 2-year-old Leasia Carter of Belair-Edison died in the backseat of a Lincoln because her dad, who had been drinking on a Father’s Day celebration, had forgotten she was there. In February of this year, that man was sentenced to eight years in prison for what he confessed to be a “horrible mistake.” But what if he had been given a second chance? What if he’d gotten a reminder to check the back seat after he drove home? Surely, that would have increased the likelihood that his daughter would have survived that fateful day.
This regulatory 'reform' could roll back car safety, cost American lives
My story had a happy ending, but it could have turned out differently. I was surprised that no one tracked statistics, so I gathered my own. I found more than 1,000 victims of trunk entrapment over several decades, including more than 300 deaths and dozens of children who entered the trunk innocently, became trapped and died. Just as cases of children suffocating in refrigerators in the 1950s led to new safety standards, trunk entrapment called out for a solution. The answer was simple: a small, two-inch glow-in-the-dark plastic internal trunk release. If there had been a release in my trunk, we could have jumped out at any stop light and fled to safety.
BABY GIRL DIES IN CAR AS MOM WORKED ALL DAY — 911 CALL TELLS HEART-WRENCHING STORY
A 15-month-old baby girl died while strapped into her car seat in the backseat of her mother’s car while her mom worked all day. When the baby’s mother returned to the car at the end of her workday, she discovered the baby and by that time, it was too late. While the official cause of death was not immediately known, officials did say they believe the high temperature inside that car was a contributing factor to the death of the baby girl.
While Back-Up Cameras Help Drivers See Behind Vehicles, They Aren’t Foolproof
Back-up cameras help drivers to see things behind the bumper that we normally wouldn’t, but are we relying too heavily on them? By checking your rear and side view mirrors, you would hope to see something sitting in your driveway, especially if it’s a good 10 to 20 feet behind you. But did you know the blind spot behind your car is so big an entire busload of children could fit behind?
Cars Are Starting To Remind Us Not To Leave Baby In The Back Seat
Your car already reminds you of a lot of things. Fasten your seat belt, charge your battery, inflate your tires, fill the tank. Now Congress wants car makers to work in another one: a reminder to check the backseat. The goal is to cut down on the number of kids who die every year in hot cars. On average, 37 kids die each year that way; this year, the toll is 35, and it's only August. The Hot Cars Act of 2017 — recently introduced in the House and the Senate — doesn't specify the form that reminder should take.
