Safety Groups Team up to Prevent Deaths of Children Left Unattended in Cars – Texas Child Injury Lawyers
Between 1998 and 2009, there were 445 child fatalities involving children left unattended in vehicles, and dying from heat stroke. A group of more than 40 organizations including Safe Kids USA and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is pooling in efforts to ensure that such deaths don’t occur again.
About 50% of the fatalities occurred because a parent left the child in the vehicle, got distracted and forgot about the child. But a third of the fatalities involved an unattended child who gained access into a car and was unable to get out.
There’s one thing that parents and caregivers must understand when it comes to leaving children in closed cars. Temperatures can quickly rise, especially in the kind of weather that we have now. Very soon, internal temperatures can reach up to 80°. Add to that that the fact that the body chemistry of little babies and small children causes their bodies to heat up five times faster than an adult body does, and you have a recipe for tragedy. Small babies, and even toddlers, may not know how to roll down the window, open the door or otherwise help themselves. They have no idea why they’re feeling as uncomfortable as they are, and by the time their parents return to the vehicle, it may be too late.
Now, a group of more than 40 safety organizations including Alliance of Automobile Manufactures and Safe Kids USA have launched a campaign to check these entirely preventable deaths. They have the following tips for parents and others:
- If you see a child alone in a vehicle, call 911 immediately. You could possibly avert a tragedy.
- Set your cell phone alarm or PDA to prompt you when it’s time to drop your child off at daycare.
- Have an alert on your computer to prod you if you have left your child at daycare.
- Never leave your child unattended in a vehicle. Even a few minutes can be enough to cause heatstroke and suffocation.
With summer coming up on us, Houston personal injury lawyers would encourage parents to take extra care about leaving children unattended in vehicles and prevent such a terrible tragedy.
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Comments
I see that our State is finally useing thier purpose for a reason.I truly believe that while we(society)ignore the real issues that pertain to our citizens,we will keep looking thru the window with no view to process the real concern of all citizens.While we talk of leaving children in cars,just think of the situation we(society)put our innocent children when we allow for a person ,putting poision into our innocent,pure,children.When we allow for a person to smoke a cigarette inside a very closed surroundings like inside a car.with a child inside being forced to inhale the smoke that is known to cause damage to ones health.If our Society real wants to make a differant that is very productive,look into createing new Laws for Childrens and Elderlies Rights.Our Judical System has created Laws that are so far from the serious issues we face daily.I’m A Citizen of this Country,And I see the Blindness of Justice Daily.May we all wake thy blind and pursue the protection of All People.
The following was written by me last year following an incident outside our local post office. The statute quoted was provided by our police chief. I do disagree with the temperature noted above rising to 80 degrees. Let’s try 100, 110, 120+. And it only takes “a minute”.
Jack G Trigg
frmnjack@yahoo.com
2:44 PM on September 29, 2009
As a father and grandfather I anger easily on parents/adults leaving children in cars. Having seen this recently and calling 911 to respond I was very angry at the parent who stated he was only going in the post office for a minute. One minute doesn’t always stay just one minute. When does the clock start and who has the clock? See the statute below from Texas.
Texas Statute – Leaving a Child in a Vehicle: (directly from the Texas Penal Code – Chapter 22)
Sec. 22.10. LEAVING A CHILD IN A VEHICLE. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly leaves a child in a motor vehicle for longer than five minutes, knowing that the child is:
(1) younger than seven years of age; and
(2) not attended by an individual in the vehicle who is 14 years of age or older.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
We need to make something happen to stop this insane ignorance of parents and adults.
Jack Trigg
Mont Belvieu, TX
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/c/a/2001/07/26/MNL151508.DTL&o=1#ixzz0v0ZFvwue