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Kids 'N Cars: Never Leave Your Children Unattended in Your Vehicle, Not Even For a Minute!
Would you leave $1 million in your car? Would you let your child play with a loaded gun? Of course not. But did you know that automobiles could be just as risky and lethal? It is very important to increase your awareness and take ownership for the safety of child. This can happen to any child, anywhere, at any time. On January 7, 2001 in Kansas City, a young mother left her 4-month-old daughter in an idling car while she quickly ran into the house. When she turned around, her '85 Plymouth Reliant was gone, baby and all. How long was she away? "Just a minute."
Kids 'N CarsTM is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to pursue a greater level of public safety by informing people about the dangers of leaving children unattended in or around vehicles. The Struttmann's, who lost their child because other parents left their children unattended in a van with the motor running, strongly urge individuals to educate themselves and others about the dangers of leaving children unattended in or around vehicles.
Personal Responsibility
People leave children unattended in vehicles more often than is widely publicized, and the results are often deadly. Kids 'N Cars'TM database, the only one of its kind, includes more than one thousand cases where children were left unattended in or around vehicles. For protection before an emergency, Kids 'N CarsTM advocates that individuals NEVER leave children alone in a car and NEVER allow children to play in or around vehicles.
Most well-meaning parents have done it. On a hectic day of running errands with children in tow, we have left the kids in the car "just for a minute" while running into the drycleaners, convenience mart or dropping another child off at school.
It seems like a harmless thing to do and definitely shaves minutes off from the daily schedule. At Kids 'N CarsTM, we are urging parents to NEVER leave children unattended in or around an automobile -- "Not even for a minute."
A minute can be all it takes for a child to become ill from heat or car fumes. A minute can be all it takes for someone to break into a vehicle and abduct a child. And a minute can be all it takes for a child to climb out of a car seat and shift the car into gear.
Below are just a few examples of what has happened to children who were left unattended in an automobile:
- Heat stroke that led to permanent brain damage and death.
- Climbed out of a car seat and shifted the car into gear.
- Become ill or worse from heat or car fumes.
- Abducted when someone broke into their car.
If the vehicle is running or keys are left in the ignition, the risks dramatically increase:
- Carjacking - the car and the children.
- The vehicle can be set in motion by unattended children.
- Power control activation by curious children that can lead to strangulation and other loss of life and limb.
We do not mean to preach, but it is important to realize how potentially dangerous it is to leave unattended children in or around a vehicle.
Keeping Children Safe
Anyone can become a victim of these preventable deaths and injuries, but children are especially at risk. In 1999, 27 children died of hyperthermia (heat stroke) because their parents left.them locked inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle. In July and August of 1998, 11 children died after getting locked in car trunks in Gallup, NM; Greensboro, PA; and West Valley City, UT. To save children from these preventable deaths and injuries it takes both education and parental (caregiver) diligence.
- Never leave children alone or unsupervised - not even for a minute.
- Never leave car keys where children can find them.
- Always lock cars so children cannot get into a car unsupervised. Unlocked cars pose serious risks to children who are naturally curious and often lack fear. Keep the doors and trunk of cars locked when parked in the garage, driveway, or near home. Parked cars can be deathtraps for kids.
- Crawl around in your family vehicle and look at everything from a childs perspective. Where are there potential problems? Do the automatic power windows controls "pull" to go up rather than being "pushed"? Does your vehicle have transmission or brake interlocks?
- Teach children about the dangers of a car. A car is NOT a toy. In fact it can be as dangerous as a loaded gun, but weighs over two ton.
- Arm children with facts. They must understand that a vehicle is used for transporting people from place to place; it is NOT a playground.
- Car trunks become a tempting, secret place to hide, and a quick and easy place for abductors to make children disappear.
- Practice escape techniques so that if children are trapped in a car trunk, they know how to get out by yanking the tail light wires, kicking out the brake light fixture and signaling for help by waving or banging on the trunk and screaming.
- If a car has a trunk release in the trunk’s interior, make sure the children know how to use it and have them practice.
- Never leave rear seat folds open. This should prevent children from climbing into unlocked cars and finding their way into a trunk from the inside.
- Install an inside trunk release.
You can create awareness of the frequency and circumstances of vehicle related non-traffic injuries and deaths by:
- Helping build the Kids 'N Cars
TM database. The first of its kind, Kids 'N CarsTM tracks cases of children left unattended in or around vehicles, with more than one thousand victims documented to date. Individuals can help build the dat~abase by providing information on cases found via the Internet, newspapers, Emergency room data and reports, trauma physicians, magazine articles, and handwritten or documented oral stories.
Writing to local and state legislators about the importance of this vital, life-saving safety issue.
Talking to friends, relatives, co-workers and colleagues at professional meetings, religious gatherings, schools and clubs about the Kids 'N CarsTM cause.
Publishing articles about the dangers of leaving children unattended in or around vehicles in organization, religious, or school newsletters.
Contributing to Kids 'N CarsTM to help defray expenses or donating time to assist in the effort. All donations are 100% tax deductible.*
This takes work in homes, schools, and local communities nationwide; as well as government support. For more information please contact:
Janette E. Fennell, Co-Founder Kids 'N CarsTM
E-Mail: Kydsncars@aol.com
Michele Struttmann, Co-Founder
Kids 'N CarsTM
E-Mail: Kidsncar@fidnet.com
Print out the following flyers to help inform other parents about the dangers of leaving children unattended in or around cars:
Campaign to Inform others to NEVER LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN UNATTENDED IN YOUR VEHICLE (English version): "Not Even For a Minute" is the slogan of Kids 'N CarsTM. Print out a few of these flyers, or make copies to carry with you in your car. When you see children left unattended in a vehicle, and perceive the children are in eminent danger, call 911. Otherwise, wait for the caregiver to return. If you must leave, place one of these flyers under the wiper blades of the car. You never know...that simple gesture may some day save a life. Remember - "Not Even For a Minute".
Campaign to Inform others to NEVER LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN UNATTENDED IN YOUR VEHICLE (Spanish version): Spanish version of above flyer from Kids 'N CarsTM.
Visit the following Internet sites for more information about statistics, state laws, and child safety:
TM Website (they are currently moving)
GM Trunk Safety Program
Child Passenger Safety Web
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - Child Passenger Safety
Below are a couple of related books that deal with children and car safety. Use Amazon.com's secure server to order:
 My Trusty Car Seat: Buckling Up for Safety (Berenstain Bears Baby Board Books): - Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain. Ages: Baby-Preschool. Buy it now through Amazon.com's secure server!
Click HERE or on the image of the books to give this gift to yourself or someone else!
I'm Safe! in the Car: - Wendy Gordon, Paul Gordon. Ages: Baby-Preschool. Buy it NOW through Amazon.com's secure server!
Click HERE or on the image of the books to give this gift to yourself or someone else!
*Kids 'N CarsTM is a project of the Trauma Foundation, as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit agency, located in San Francisco. Stay tuned for their new upcoming non-profit organization!
Copyright © Kids 'N CarsTM. Reprinted with permission.
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