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If you need a public service announcement to remind you that you shouldn't forget your child in a hot car, you also need to be sterilized.
We shouldn't need a public service announcement to tell people that throwing a lit cigarette in a tinder dry forest can cause a forest fire, but it happens. That's why we still have Smokey the Bear telling us "only you can prevent forest fires."
I often wonder this myself! Where I live, you can easily freeze to death in a short period of time in the winter. Even in a car, it doesn't stay above freezing for long when it's below zero outside.
Already explained in an earlier post. Physics, also demographics.
Most of the population of the US lives in warmer areas.
I'm sure though that we'll have innumerate posters along in no time comparing Texas to Minnesota and saying that TX people just hate kids more.
Good example of a statistical correlation you would need to adjust for if comparing rates of car deaths over time.
One time I had been at a monthly meeting at a woman's home. For some reason, I had to bring my 5 year old this time, who quietly played with her kids in another room.
Just as I got home, the woman called me and said, "Kayanne, I think you left something at my house." I looked around, saw my purse and my notebook, and said, "Ummm, no, I seem to have everything," to which she replied, "What about your son?!" I couldn't believe that I drove home without thinking about him! I was probably distracted by thinking about out of town dinner guests who would be arriving soon, plus I didn't usually take my son to these meetings. To this day, I am embarrassed and mortified. I like to think I was a good mom; I was absolutely dedicated to my three boys, even dropping out of the work force for many years to be a full-time homeschool mom. (They did all manage to stay alive and become well-educated, productive adults).
Another time, I was at the ATM, all three boys were in the back of the car (distracting me with some commotion). I drove away, leaving not only my debit card in the machine, but also the $400 I had just requested.
The human brain is not flawless. Anyone who believes theirs is, has a deluded sense of security.
^^^Great post.
People make mistakes. Vilifying them when it was an obvious accident is the low action of gossips.
Hindsight is always 20/20. Very few of these cases are due to abuse. I once knew of a case where a woman had left her baby in the truck at a gas station and ran into the station to pay for her gas. There were gas cans in the back of the truck. There was a spark and the gas cans exploded - its the FUMES that are so dangerous. You don't have to light a fire under the can, it ony takes a spark. The baby was horribly burned and eventually died.
I can never forget that incident. Had it been me, I'd have killed myself - and it could have been me.
Accidents can have horrible consequences. They're still accidents and they could happen to ANYONE. Even you.
I'm not a very "tech minded" person but I am a mom to 11 with 4 grandkids (cared for one full-time as an infant for 2 years) so I have been slinging car seats & diaper bags almost daily for 30 years...
My thought is:
Most cars have that "bing bong" if it senses that an occupied seats seat belt has not been latched.
Couldn't cars be equipped with a sensor that activates if a car is put in park, key removed, door opened then shut (meaning the driver exits the car) but a rear seat belt remains latched & weighted? Not activated with a puny bing bong but actually activating the car alarm with lights flashing/horn honking.
( I HATE activating mine by accident)
The weighing function could be calibrated as to allow the base or actual seat to remain so you are not having to remove seat or unlatch the base at every stop.
The weight of seat + 6+lbs would trigger the alarm after the drivers door shuts & in the event it's a "false" alarm it would take like 5 seconds to silence it. If anything people would get kinda OCD about making sure the back seat was "clear" before walking away from the car.
I'm sure there are some issues I have not considered (NOT a tech-minded person) but geez; it seems like we could do better than the nothing we are doing right now.
Parental distraction is the #1 reason according to the federal government.
Parental distraction is not the same as "54% - child forgotten by caregiver". Anyone can forget something without being distracted.
The increase is due to the rear facing/rear seating campaign that began in the mid to late 1990s. The fact is before the mid 1990s many parents were putting their kids in the front seats of their cars. I actually remember when airbags came out and hearing about the onset of injuries happening to kids sitting in the front.
You can't forget what you see that is right next to you (distracted or not).
Is it possible that because these accidents have been on the news so much, that when some parents really do want to murder their children, they choose this method simply because it's what they've been seeing on the news so much?
It's hard to imagine parents deliberately murdering their own children, but we hear about it all the time. They drown them in the bathtub, throw them off bridges, hang them, shoot them, stab them, and beat them to death. Sometimes they hide the bodies and try to pretend the child disappeared. But if they choose a method that's been on the news a lot, and the news stories say most people believe it was an innocent horrible accident, that might give them the idea that it might be one way they can get away with it.
I have to wonder if some of these parents are doing it on purpose. I mean how do you forget your kid? When I leave for work I make sure my Chihuahua isn't on the patio so she doesn't get locked out for hours in the heat and people can't remember their flesh and blood is still in the car? Do they not even give a thought to their child at all during the day? "I wonder how little Mary is doing at daycare today"? I mean really? Not one thought in the entire day that makes you realize you left your child in your vehicle?
Is it possible that because these accidents have been on the news so much, that when some parents really do want to murder their children, they choose this method simply because it's what they've been seeing on the news so much?
It's hard to imagine parents deliberately murdering their own children, but we hear about it all the time. They drown them in the bathtub, throw them off bridges, hang them, shoot them, stab them, and beat them to death. Sometimes they hide the bodies and try to pretend the child disappeared. But if they choose a method that's been on the news a lot, and the news stories say most people believe it was an innocent horrible accident, that might give them the idea that it might be one way they can get away with it.
Just because It happens by accident sometimes, doesn't mean it won't be investigated.
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