When these tragedies occurred, very little was known about the scope of the trunk entrapment problem. Very few vehicles had internal trunk release mechanisms and little information existed to educate the public on the issue. The scarcity of crime, health and traffic safety data on trunk entrapment was examined at the Panel's first meeting in January of 1999. A report from NHTSA made clear that federal databases contained essentially no information on the role trunk entrapment played in the deaths and injuries of children and adults in the United States.

The most comprehensive data brought before the Panel came from an independent entity called TRUNC (Trunk Releases Urgently Needed Coalition). TRUNC has uncovered hundreds of incidents of trunk entrapment involving children and adults in both intentional and unintentional cases. These data showed that the majority of deaths and injuries related to trunks involved a violent abduction. As the nature and magnitude of the problem became clear, the Panel determined that internal trunk releases were an essential element to preventing trunk entrapments. However, discussion with experts in criminology confirmed that the impact an internal trunk release would have on criminal behavior could not be predicted. The Panel therefore concluded that its focus should be on preventing unintentional entrapments, particularly in the case of children, and recognized that an internal trunk release mechanism designed to be operated by small children would also work for adults.

In order to assess the likelihood of internal trunk releases becoming standard in all new vehicles, the Expert Panel surveyed all domestic and foreign automobile manufacturers on their plans to move forward on either a retrofit or new car design trunk release system. Additionally, by the Panel's third meeting in May of 1999, both General Motors and Ford had announced the development of a retrofit kit and new car design, respectively, which they presented to the Panel.

The Panel met three times over a period of four months and reached consensus on recommendations related to data collection, education, engineering and evaluation. The Panel also voted for an enactment recommendation. With better education related to car safety and crime prevention, promotion of retrofit kits, and the installation of internal trunk releases in all motor vehicles, the Panel hopes to accomplish its mission of avoiding any more deaths and injuries from trunk entrapments.

Recommendations

Data Collection

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should establish a national data system designed to measure the frequency and consequences of trunk entrapment. It should do this in conjunction with other federal agencies (such as the National Center for Health Statistics) and non-profit organizations (such as the Trunk Releases Urgently Needed Coalition).
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should seek, and Congress should provide, adequate resources to establish and maintain this national data system.

The data system should ensure as broad an assessment of deaths and injuries as possible.

Education

• Automobile manufacturers should include information on trunk safety in vehicle owners' manuals, warning labels and/or safety hang tags for all cars with trunks.
• Public and private sector organizations should develop and disseminate educational materials and/or augment existing materials to include trunk entrapment prevention and other safety measures regarding children and adults in and around cars.

Messages for children need to be carefully designed to educate them about the dangers of trunks without making the trunks more attractive for play in the process. They furthermore should be complemented by broader messages about car safety, and the dangers of leaving children alone in closed cars that could rise to deadly high temperatures in the summer months. It should be emphasized that overexposure to heat can lead to brain damage, other permanent disabilities and death.

Crime prevention advocates should give families tips on avoiding abduction and possible trunk entrapment.

Engineering

• Automobile manufacturers should voluntarily develop trunk safety retrofit kits, including internal trunk release mechanisms, by summer 2000 for as many earlier model vehicles as feasible.
• Retrofit kits should be marketed, promoted and made available to the public at reduced cost or free of charge.
• All automobile manufacturers should design and install trunk safety features, including internal trunk release mechanisms, into all new vehicles by January 1, 2001.
• All new designs and retrofit kits should be based upon the cognitive and physical abilities of young children.
• The Society of Automotive Engineers should begin work to develop a recommended practice for the design and performance of trunk safety features, including internal trunk release mechanisms.

To guarantee use by consumers, the development of retrofit kits must be coupled with strong marketing and distribution strategies by individual manufacturers.

Enactment

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should issue a standard requiring vehicles to be equipped with internal trunk release mechanisms.

This standard should hold the automobile industry accountable for taking action, yet allow manufacturers the freedom to determine optimal design solutions.

Manufacturers are urged to pursue voluntary action rather than waiting for NHTSA's rulemaking.

Evaluation

• By December 2000, the Expert Panel on Trunk Entrapment should reconvene to assess progress made in implementing the above recommendations.

Trunk Entrapment Panel Participants

Chair

• Heather Paul, Ph.D., National SAFE KIDS Campaign

Panel Members

• William Boehly, Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, Inc.
• Marilyn Bull, M.D., American Academy of Pediatrics
• Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, M.D., M.P.H., Children's Memorial Hospital
• Susan Cischke, DaimlerChrysler
• Malcolm J. Denniss, HASBRO, Inc.
• Mark Lee Edwards, Ph.D., American Automobile Association
• Janette Fennell, Trunk Releases Urgently Needed Coalition
• Lindsay Harris, Fisher-Price, Inc.
• Philip Haseltine, American Coalition for Traffic Safety, Inc.
• David Holloway, Ph.D., Society of Automotive Engineers
• Robert Lange, General Motors Corporation
• Janet Lassman, R.N., EN Care/Emergency Nurses Association
• Jerry Newberry, National Education Association
• Brian O'Neill, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
• Lester Sokolowski, National Safety Council
• Michael J. Stando, Ford Motor Company
• Judie L. Stone, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
• Lenore Terr, M.D., Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry
• Dave Tollett, International Association of Chiefs of Police Federal Panel Observers
• Matt Berzok, Office of Representative Bart Stupak (D-Mich.)
• Christine Branche, Ph.D., National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC
• Stephanie D. Bryn, M.P.H., Maternal and Child Health Bureau, HRSA
• Lois Fingerhut, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC
• Wayne Lord, Ph.D., Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Suad Nakamura, Ph.D., U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• L. Robert Shelton, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Rebecca Dean Shipp, Office of Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
• Elaine Weinstein, National Transportation Safety Board

Presenters

• Steve Kratzke, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Jonathan Arden, M.D., Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia

Staff

• Mandy Taft, National SAFE KIDS Campaign
• Angela Mickalide, Ph.D., National SAFE KIDS Campaign