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Hot Cars - Latest News
Safety Advocates Push for Advanced Tech Mandate to Cut Hot Car Deaths
Safety advocates pushing for new technology that would alert drivers if they leave a child in their vehicle after leaving it say the new devices could lower the cost of sensor technology in current and coming vehicles. KidsAndCars.org rolled out examples of new technology that could be installed in vehicles right now that can determine if a baby or small child has been left in a vehicle and trigger a series of alarms and warnings to prevent that child from dying or being injured due to exposure in an overheated vehicle.
'Hot Cars Act' would require rear seat passenger detection
There's a new bill working its way through Congress to help prevent children from dying inside hot vehicles in the U.S. If passed, it would require detection technology in every new vehicle. More than 100 kids have died inside hot cars over the past couple years in the U.S. Two of those happened in Ohio. Sgt. Ryan Purpura with Ohio State Highway Patrol says you should never leave a child in a hot car, even if you are just running inside for 10 seconds to get something that you left inside the house or a store. "When it's 95 degrees out and that vehicle is closed up, it heats up rapidly, very fast.
Protecting Children: Preventing Deaths From Hot Cars
The Institute for Childhood Preparedness and Kids and Cars have teamed up to educate the public about the dangers of leaving children alone in hot cars. Last year we created a helpful flyer with heatstroke prevention facts and actionable tips if you see a child alone in a hot car. Unfortunately, there were 53 hot car deaths in 2019, and there have already been six hot car deaths in 2020. According to KidsandCars.org, over 940 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990. Even the best of parents or caregivers can unknowingly leave a sleeping baby in a car, and the result can be injury or even death.
Momentum for an Effort to Save Children From Sweltering Cars
There was reason for optimism last June. The Hot Cars Act of 2019 appeared to be making some progress. The bill would require a device that could warn drivers and car owners of a child left behind in a car or one who had gotten into a parked car. For Janette Fennell of KidsAndCars.org, who has championed such legislation for decades, the bill was an opportunity to curb an epidemic of childhood hyperthermia deaths. Each year, dozens of children die of heatstroke in cars.
Charges against Oklahoma father dropped after 2 children die in hot car
The father of two children who died in a hot truck over the weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been released from custody after investigators discovered new evidence about how the children gained access to the vehicle, according to ABC 8 in Tulsa.
