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Experts Warn Devices To Prevent Kids Dying In Hot Cars Provide A False Sense Of Security

Posted: July 31, 2012
Experts Warn Devices To Prevent Kids Dying In Hot Cars Provide A False Sense Of Security

baby safety car sensor backseat

Kids dying in hot cars — left either by a parent who forgot that a child was in the backseat after a change in routine, misjudged the safety of the vehicle or flat-out did not care that their baby was left behind in a sweltering minivan — are one of summer’s inevitable and depressingly common perennial stories.

In the case of the former, kids dying in hot cars appears to be nearly unavoidable. More than half of all deaths of children left in hot vehicles are attributable to instances where a parent simply forgot that their small child was in the car, a phenomenon that was extensively covered in a very sad but very important read in the Washington Post magazine a few years back titled “Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?”

In the piece, incidents such as a parent who does not normally do a task such as dropping a child off at daycare were examined, and experts suggested that the human brain is wired to perform certain tasks on autopilot — making it terrifyingly easy for a parent to “forget” that they must stop at the child care center on the way to work.

In the intervening years, it seems that parents and law enforcement are coming to accept that the circumstance of “forgetting” a child in a vehicle leading to hyperthermia death is a tragic accident that could literally happen to anyone — and products designed to prevent the often-fatal misstep from occurring have been brought to market.

However, experts say that such products may help a little — but inconsistent response and frequent “false alarms” make the devices not entirely reliable for total prevention. The New York Times explains:

“The research team found none of the devices worked consistently. Many were prone to false alarms. Others were difficult to install and required extensive maintenance. None of the them addressed instances where children get into cars on their own.”

It seems until parents accept that the frightening reality is that this is an accident that can and does occur to loving, careful mothers and fathers, the problem will persist in being seen as one of negligence. Would you trust a device to safety check your backseat for a sleeping baby or toddler?



Comments


5 Archived Responses to “ Experts Warn Devices To Prevent Kids Dying In Hot Cars Provide A False Sense Of Security ”

  1. Forget Me Not
    Aug 1, 2012

    It is a parent's responsibility to make sure their child is safely out of the vehicle, no matter what they must do to make that happen. It's already proven that the human brain is fallible and cannot be totally relied on in these cases – there must be backup systems in place. If those backup systems are technology that is deemed fallible as well, then we use them along with others as "backup". I don't think any logical parent would totally relinquish their child's well-being to technology, and these "experts" you speak of (could they include the car industry per chance, who refuse to install these devices due to financial concerns and so continue to portray them as flawed and unnecessary?), are promoting a false sense of unreliability and do so at the risk of children’s lives. Yes, I would use these safety devices designed to protect our children, and thank the makers of them while doing so, whilst also making sure that I employ other common sense safety measures as well. These include things like always checking the rear seat before exiting the car. Always. Make it a habit. Always removing the child from the car before anything else, especially groceries. NEVER leaving your child alone in a car, even for a moment. Always clearly communicating with the other people in the car about who will be responsible for removing the child from the car, and then verifying that it was done. There are many more listed on child safety websites, like kidsandcars.org, forgetmenotusa.com and harrisonshope.org.
    Regarding the claim that this technology isn’t perfect because it doesn’t solve the problem for those children who climb into the car on their own and aren’t found in time – seriously? You don’t dismiss something that could save hundreds, thousands of lives because it doesn’t solve the problem of a small percentage of the casualties; you use it and then find something else that works for the others. By the way, one simple tip for that horrible scenario is to always leave your car locked while parked and put your keys where the child cannot reach them.
    Not only would I use these safety devices, I have a petition you can sign at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/mandatory-child-sensor-alert-systems-for-all-new-vehilces that would require car makers to install these driver reminder system in all vehicles. There is no plausible, humane excuse for not doing so, and in refusing to do so they have condemned hundreds of children to a horrible, painful death. That’s what we should be talking about.

  2. Kristie Reeves-cavaliero
    Aug 1, 2012

    I agree completely, and I encourage all parents, caregivers, reporters, etc, to read BEYOND the abstract and its arguable conclusions. First of all, only 3 devices were tested a handful of times. Table 1 doesnt even list all available systems that were on the market at the end of 2011, the time when the study was completed. The carseats used were no even the most common seats utilized. Further, many of the "reliability" comments relate to the devices' abilities to distinguish between a 10kg sandbag, a 2.5kg bookbag, or dolls weighing different weights from an actual kid for system activation— who cares? isnt the point that the system turns on when a certain weight (ie kid) is in the seat? who would haul around a sandbag or bookbag in a carseat instead of their kid in the first place. other arguments included varying distances from the car when the receiver fired an alarm—they didnt mention that the alarm distance can be adjusted on most of these devices and guess what?? they ALL fired an alarm when the parent walked away from the car and a kid was in the seat—is a 10-20ft difference in distance of alarm activation significant in real life when the device serves its intended purpose??? Moreover, they only tested 8 real kids in 8 real life communte scenarios—guess what???? They ALARMED when the parent left the car with they keychain receiver without the kid.—-so exactly what was so unreliable in these real-world issues??? as a mom who lost a child to heatstroke i find the reports' conclusions unpractical and borderline criminal to dissuade parents from having these devices as an added layer of security.

  3. Sandra Martineau
    Aug 14, 2012

    These devices are not suposed to be in place of parental due dilligence, they are simply an added protection for those breaks in the family routines that seem to precipitate the majority of these trajic accidents. Personaly when it comes to my kids I will take the added protection and I would never consider simply relying on technology in such circumstances.

  4. BabyProof App
    Aug 17, 2012

    I feel so sorry for those parents who make such an innocent mistake. I would advise parents who are changing their routine to check on one another to make sure the routine has been followed so that baby is not only safe but has everything it needs. A phone call to say "honey did everything go okay with the drop off. Did you leave the bag in and a reminder on your phone that you have to pick the baby up on the way home" It could make all of the difference.


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