Girl, 2, dies after being left in a car for nearly 8 hours

Philadelphia Inquirer | 8-13-02 | Barbara Boyer and Thomas J. Gibbons

[Consort]

And the average keeps declining.

[SarahW]

It's easy to do; easier than most people are willing to accept. It has to do with the way the brain works when it is performing routine tasks.

The brains "auto pilot" can assume a task has been completed when it has not, and this is especially true when performing routine tasks.

Most people have experienced similar "brain-hiccups" while driving, only in situations where nobody's life was at stake. People get distracted and auto-pilot takes over.

[SarahW]

Brains are fallible. I don't see anything wrong with the idea of a "fail-safe" device.

[RogueIsland]

Seems strange nobody has come up with an idea for a simple device that would warn the driver when he/she closes the door while a child is still inside.

How about some sort of warning signal when the ignition is shut off and the child safety seat is still hooked up with a child in it (pressure sensor, perhaps?). It's certainly technologically possible, it would just require industry standards.

[fogarty]

Every parent who lets their kid roast to death in a car like this should be sterilized immediately. They are unfit parents, and they have lost the right to be parents.

[Salvation]

Prayers for the family of this little girl, including the grand-father.

[nothingnew]

It was unclear why no one saw the child in the parked car.

Heavily tinted windows?

What a shame for all involved.

Have to wonder if the guy has early stages of Alzheimers.

FMCDH

[monday]

"How awful! Could this have been prevented by having the kid in the front seat?"

Maybe, but the safty nazis make children ride in the back.

[TamiPie]

I agree!

[myrabach]

This was a grandfather who left the child after dropping the parent off. Its just a horrible situation. This was on my local news and the grief of the people involved was just heartwrenching. But ya know, maybe God had it right all along.... marriage so there are 2 parents, and Mom raises the children at home.

I'm not judging, I realize people do have to work and there are situations of a single parent. Its just my observation that sometimes when people step outside of the Biblical guidelines, some horrible things happen.

[Mark was here]

So Sad...

[monday]

. But ya know, maybe God had it right all along.... marriage so there are 2 parents, and Mom raises the children at home.

Unfortunately taxes are so high that everyone has to work to make ends meet. Grandma, Grandpa, and Mom all had jobs.

[Helms]

Every once in a while we are reminded that Responsibility is key, that the world can be a cruel place and that the gene pool is allways rewarding and punishing, sometimes strangely.

Now lets all get back to the newest child abduction case on the cable networks.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Girl, 2, dies after being left in a car for nearly 8 hours

The little girl needs our prayers

?

[Lev]

How about some sort of warning signal when the ignition is shut off and the child safety seat is still hooked up with a child in it (pressure sensor, perhaps?).

Yep, that's what I was thinking about.

[newgeezer]

I was wondering the same thing.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I've seen it happen (not resulting in death, though), read about it happening...maybe each case should be considered on its own merit.

It seems the complaint here is lack of personal responisiblity, but you want to enable more lack of responsibility by creating features to remind caretakers (parents, etc) that a child is inside so they can pay less attention?

I don't get it.

[MEGoody]

This was an accident? Wow, the guy must be really stupid, deaf and blind to boot. He got into and out of the car twice with her in the backseat, and didn't see her? During the ride to work, the ride to schedule maintenance and the ride home, the little girl never once made a sound? I have a hard time buying that - unless there is something mentally or physically wrong with this gentleman.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

I don't know if it's actually being used, or was just an idea being tossed around, but some manufactures had come up with a motion detector of sorts, which, in a closed, shut-down vehicle, could detect and call attention to, the movements inside, even very slight ones.

[beowolf]

Police said there was no car seat.

This would have placed the kid in view...tragic, but preventable, IMO. They give car-seats to those that can't afford them. You can get them for a couple of bucks at any thrift store.