The Automotive Coalition on Traffic Safety surveyed 900 parents, and learned that most parents underestimate the risks of cars to kids. For example, two-thirds thought it was unlikely a child would die from heat after being left alone in a car, when it turns out that kids' bodies heat up faster than adults, and so far this year at least five kids have died from heat stroke after being left unattended in a ride. The president of the coalition says, "Kids are run over in driveways and parking lots, suffer from
hypothermia, they put a car in motion while playing, are strangled by
power windows, or trapped in the trunks of sedans."Yeesh. Now even my crappy old mom car is looking like a death trap to me.
Obviously we need to do the basics: buckle up, hold hands, and exercise caution around streets and driveways. But this issue of leaving kids in cars is a temptation I'm sure many parents have felt. You know, kids are asleep or tired, the hassle of dragging children out of the carseats seems like such a pain and you are only going to run in for a second... Of course the consequences if something goes wrong are so awful, it really isn't worth it. When I was small, my sister and I were alone in a car and accidentally kicked it into neutral, and slowly began rolling down a slope. I leaped out of the car and tried to push it back up the hill (that's kid logic for you.) Luckily we were both fine, but the experience stayed with me. Now my kid is forced exit the vehicle and come everywhere with me, which is sometimes a real drag, but ultimately gives me way more peace of mind.
