[MP-Ryan]

We just heard from our city's police twitter feed that it is highly recommended for you to smash a car window in the event that you suspect a child might have been left in a car and is at risk of dying of hyperthermia. It's not a perfect measure, but I'm glad they pointed out the obvious course of action, promising that no charges would be pursued if you broke into a car for the express purpose of saving a life. It also means that on hot, sunny days, it may be worth everyone's time to occasionally glance at the backseats of nearby parked vehicles.

On that note, the Res-Q-Me seatbelt cutter and window breaker is a wonderful tool.  I drive in remote areas and near water a lot, so I have one on each of my personal car key rings, and on all of our work vehicles.  A colleague of mine is also a volunteer firefighter and has used his several times.  Contrary to popular belief, smashing a vehicle window is actually quite difficult.

[Mongoose]

The reasoning behind rear-facing car seats for very young children (or at least I'd assume as much) is that infants don't have well-developed neck muscles yet, plus their skulls are still rather soft.  If the vehicle comes to a sudden stop while moving, which would be your most common accident scenario, the whiplash motion that would only leave an adult with a sore neck would do terrible things to an infant.  With the rear-facing seat, the infant's head and neck are fully supported during the deceleration phase, which would greatly reduce the stresses placed on them.

[Klaustrophobia]

it's more than a little unnerving that nearly all of the cases mentioned in the article happened in my general area.

[karajorma]

Probably where the reporter is based more than anything else. Unless you've discovered a factor they failed to consider.

But yeah, it's always worrying when you see stories from the place you lived. Makes it more real.

[jr2]

Hmm, you could tie in an internal carseat seatbelt sensor that sends a signal that causes a keyfob attachment to go off if the keyfob moves out of range of the seat without the all-clear (unbuckled) signal being sent.  As well as a low-battery reminding chirp, like a fire alarm.

Practically, though, to reduce (can't eliminate, but it would reduce I think) the chance of leaving your child, make a habit of tossing something into the carseat after removing your child, something that you can carry on your person normally and is visible.  Say, a bracelet with their name or something?  Then if you get to work and see the bracelet on you, you know to go get your child.

IDK... I don't have to bring my child to the sitter on a regular basis so I have no pre-established habit, but if I did, and the "child delivered to caregiver" circuit was triggered while Jed was napping... :shudder:

[Nuke]

you could probibly do a better job with load cells, accelerometers, and temperature sensors (none of which are expensive), in addition to the latch sensor. then top it all off with an ems transmitter that can alert dispatchers if the seat is loaded, locked, and not moving at high temperature for an extended period of time. if the car has onstar or something like that it could interface with that as well. could even forward a message to your cell or email. this is one of those things that is trivial to fix with technology. and if you cant convince the auto manufacturers go after the car seat manufacturers.

[Phantom Hoover]

None of them are expensive, but they're not all necessarily reliable; and as the article points out, the manufacturers are potentially liable if their safety measures malfunction and a child is injured or killed.

[deathfun]

Know what's really reliable and extremely cheap?

Spoiler:

Not having kids

Had to say it


If I didn't exist, I'm fairly certain my parents could have saved a profuse amount of money

[jr2]

None of them are expensive, but they're not all necessarily reliable; and as the article points out, the manufacturers are potentially liable if their safety measures malfunction and a child is injured or killed.

I don't get this.  If they're not liable now, they shouldn't be held liable for actually giving a damn and trying.  Messed up world we live in.  :disgust:

[Mongoose]

An odd coincidence, but this popped up on my Facebook feed today.  It's an ingeniously simple idea; good on the kid.

[Lorric]

An odd coincidence, but this popped up on my Facebook feed today.  It's an ingeniously simple idea; good on the kid.

It would be as cheap as anything as well. No fancy electronic gizmos needed here.

[redsniper]

Just have to remember to reset it.