Since (tragically) this subject comes up frequently in the Pit, I thought the Pitizens might be interested in this article about kids dying in hot cars.
I know linking to the article is more of an MPSIMS thing, but it’s definitely a subject fit for the Pit. I feel sick every time I think about the negligence and stupidity that leads to these deaths, and even sicker when I think about the poor parents who turned their kids over to a daycare provider without knowing that it would be the last time they ever saw them.
Not the strongest of rants, but this stuff makes me more sad than angry. Maybe someone else can do better.
I’ve done quite enough absent-minded dumbass things in my life to understand how this could happen. My thought is to propose a technical fix. How hard would it be to make an active or passive ventilation system standard (or optional) in cars so that they don’t heat up to a zillion degrees?
It seems as though it would be fairly simply to engineer an air exchange system powered by solar cells that would pump enough air through a car so that it doesn’t get much hotter than the outside air temperature. And you don’t have to have a toddler in the back seat to appreciate this – it’s no fun getting into a 120 degree car.
You know, I never have forgotten my dogs in the car. Ever. I’ve had changes of plans and routes… and never EVER have forgotten my dogs. Never been so preoccupied that I’ve forgotten them in any vehicle.
Hell, they never stay in a car unattended, rain or shine, hot or cold or mild…
We’re talking about your CHILDREN here. I don’t understand how ANYONE could forget they’ve got their kid in the car, strapped in a carseat. I just… don’t.
If something like that does happen, it won’t be for 15-20 years and only after the car companies have been dragged kicking and screaming into doing it, just like they were dragged kicking and screaming into adding anti-lock brakes and air bags to passenger cars.
Lee Iacocca is personally responsible for holding up the introduction of anti-lock brakes /air bags in domestic (US cars) for nearly 15 years. He was a vicious anti-saftey campaigner, which boggles the mind. Iacocca kept bleating about how adding airbags and anti-lock brakes would bankrupt the auto industry.
Every summer in Texas - I think we’re getting better at prosecuting in these cases, though. Maybe.
How in hell could you do it?? It’s bad enough that we get the stories (3 that I can recall this year) of day-care workers forgetting about a child - but can you imagine forgetting your OWN child was in the car and walking off?
Here’s the latest tragedy in my neck of the woods:
First of all, technology can certainly reduce the consequences of human stupidity, witness the airbag and the seat belt.
Second, I believe it’s unjust and even cruel to put down all of these cases as stupidity. Theories of human cognition posit that many human responses are scriptal in nature – that is, we go through our daily routine following what is essentially a built-in program that we build up over a period of repeating the same mundane tasks over and over. It’s a very useful mechanism in that it frees the mind from having resolve known problems every day. The flaw is that it doesn’t handle breaks in the routine very well. Get distracted, even a bit, and the mind goes back on autopilot.
My point is that this is a natural mechanism of the human mind that occasionally has tragic consequences.
First of all, technology can certainly reduce the consequences of human stupidity, witness the airbag and the seat belt.
Second, I believe it’s unjust and even cruel to put down all of these cases as stupidity. Theories of human cognition posit that many human responses are scriptal in nature – that is, we go through our daily routine following what is essentially a built-in program that we build up over a period of repeating the same mundane tasks over and over. It’s a very useful mechanism in that it frees the mind from having resolve known problems every day. The flaw is that it doesn’t handle breaks in the routine very well. Get distracted, even a bit, and the mind goes back on autopilot.
My point is that this is a natural mechanism of the human mind that occasionally has tragic consequences.
Every time someone does this in Florida, I keep in mind that I’ve never left any perishible groceries in my car before. That explains why we are unable to become parents, we might have a fucking clue. Bitter, hostile, don’t mess with me on this one. Just nod knowingly.
I don’t know but they seem to be related to the people who need every single warning spelled out for them. We went grocery shopping Monday and for the first time I noticed a big sign at the store’s entrance. The sign warned against leaving pets and children unattended in parked cars.
