Heat Safety & Prep

KidsAndCars.Org Launches White House Petition To Get Life-Saving Child Detection Gear Added to Cars

In an effort to stop a tragic phenomenon that has killed more than 670 children over the past 20 years, KidsAndCars.org launched a petition drive today to get technology added to cars that will detect a child left alone in the rear seat of a vehicle.

The "We the People" petition, launched at the White House website, is an effort to prod the Obama Administration to authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide funding for research and development of this technology.

Already in 2014 at least 17 children have died in hot cars according to figures provided by KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles.

“These memory errors are committed by normal, attentive and loving parents," Dr. David Diamond, a neuroscientist at the University of South Florida who studies the brain and memory, including people who have unknowingly forgotten children, said in a news release.

"Many of these parents had believed that they could never forget their children, until their children died,” he added. “Scientific studies confirm that you can’t assume your memory will never fail, and the consequences of a memory failure can be tragic.”

(MORE: Interactive: Hot Car Deaths in the U.S. in 2014)

The petition urges the White House to authorize DOT to:

Provide funding for research and development of innovative technology.
Identify, evaluate and test new technology to accelerate implementation of the most feasible and effective solutions.
Require installation of technology in all vehicles and/or child safety seats to prevent children from being left alone in vehicles.

“The auto industry already recognizes we're human and our memories often fail us," said Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, in a news release. "You get a warning if you don't buckle your seatbelt, leave a car door open, your gas is low or you leave your headlights on.”

“If you forget your keys in the ignition, you get a warning. If a child is left behind, you absolutely need a warning," she added. "The federal government and automakers have the ability to solve this problem, and we need action now.”

To get the petition reviewed by the White House, KidsAndCars.org needs 100,000 signatures within 30 days, between July 15 and Aug. 12.

“We believe the public wants action now,” Fennell said. “These deaths are happening too frequently in communities across the country and the petition will ensure White House attention and a response.”

The organization has had past successes in pushing the government to adopt federal safety standards, including a requirement that all vehicles be equipped with trunk release latches to prevent anyone from being trapped inside a car trunk, one for safe power window switches to prevent children from being strangled, and one for brake transmissions shift interlock systems that prevent children from accidentally knocking a vehicle into gear.

Most recently, a federal DOT rule was issued requiring rear visibility systems as standard equipment on all new passenger vehicles by May 2018.

Learn more at KidsAndCars.org, or sign the White House petition here.

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