Accidents Involving Cars And Kids

In summertime, the risk for accidents increases and many of these accidents occur in and around the car.  A wonderful tool for parents is available online at: www.safercar.gov/parents/home.htm. This site has a wealth of information for parents about how to avoid common accidents.

            One section deals with the danger of leaving a child in a parked car. Every summer, there are reports of children dying of heatstroke because they were either intentionally or accidently left in a hot car. A study of 1000 parents early this year done by Public Opinion Strategies revealed that 7 out of 10 parents said that they had heard about the danger of leaving a child in a car, but 14% of those parents reported having intentionally leaving a child aged 6 or younger alone in a parked, locked car. 6% said that they were comfortable leaving their young children in a parked vehicle for longer than 15 minutes. It is common to think that these parents are neglectful, but in cases of a child dying from heat stroke in a car, only 8% were found to be negligent – meaning there were drugs, alcohol or a previous report of negligence to Child Protection. In 52% of the cases, the parent simply forgot that the child was in the car. In 30% of the deaths, children were left playing in the car and in 18% the child was left intentionally. These were not “bad parents”. They just made a bad decision (“I’ll only go into the store for a minute”) or simply forgot the child was with them – often because they were not used to traveling with the child. The website reminds parents to never leave a child in the car, even if the window is cracked open. Don’t let children play in the car and always check before leaving the car – “Look before you lock”.

            The site also discusses power window accidents, including strangulation caused by a rising power window. These accidents are common in vehicles that have push button power window controls (newer vehicles have “lift” controls rather than “push down” controls). Parents need to teach their children not to play with or around the door armrests. The parents should never leave a key in the ignition or have the key turned to “on” or “accessory”.

            Leaving the key in the ignition can also result in the child moving the car’s gearshift out of park and the car being set in motion with the child in it.

            Earlier this year, there were news reports of a toddler “going missing” at a family gathering and, after a prolonged search, the child was found dead in the trunk of the family car parked right in the driveway. The site talks about how to avoid trunk entrapment and also talks about how to avoid back-over accidents where a driver drives over a child while backing up out of a driveway or parking space.

            Finally, the site gives excellent information about car seats, and all manner of child restraints to keep children safe in cars. It also has articles about bicycle safety and safe teen driving.

The handouts are printable and all the information is free.