It's because the Nanny State now requires kids to be in the back seat. That's why you never used to hear these stories.
Oh, please. It's not the fault of the "Nanny state" that this woman forgot she strapped her own infant into the backseat. It's the mother's fault. It may be against the law to put the kid in the front. I bet its also against the law to leave your child in the car all day. Is that another example of the Nanny state?
Front seat, back seat. How do you forget your child is in the car? Even if I did have to work, and leave my child in daycare, I cannot imagine not remembering the baby was in the car.