We talked last week about whether or not automakers should install forgotten kid alarms in cars as a result of the high number of overheating deaths already this year.  While many parents see no harm in adding the safety technology to vehicles, Pennsylvania lawmakers want to go one step further.  They plan to introduce a bill that would charge parents who leave their children in unattended vehicles with a third-degree felony.

Sen. Robert Tomlinson, R-Bucks County, and Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-Bensalem, are sponsoring the legislation and will present it to their respective chambers, according to the Daily American.  Supervising adults caught abandoning children in a car currently face misdemeanor charges; a third-degree felony conviction can result in 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

But wait!  Here’s the really unbelievable part: This proposed change in the law comes in response to a slew of hasty parents who’ve left their children locked in the parking lot of the Parx Casino in Bensalem in order to go gamble.  You know, with something other than their children’s lives.  Continue reading »

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USA Today reports that at least 41 children have died so far this year in hot cars.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considering petitioning automakers to include safety belt reminder chimes for all seating positions.  Kids and Cars President Janette Fennell thinks that “these same chimes that sense if people aren’t buckled in should also warn if children are still buckled in cars after they’re locked.”  The Consumer Federation of America and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety agree.

While a chime might help in the case of distracted parents accidentally forgetting their child is in the back seat, what about parents who innocently leave their children in the car on purpose while they run into a store?  It turns out, only 18% of hot car deaths from 1998-2009 were caused by parents who intentionally left their children in the car.  30% were the result of children playing in unattended vehicles (in which case the chime would be ineffective in preventing death) and 51% of the deaths involved children forgotten in cars. Continue reading »

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