# People who "forget" their babies in the car on a hot day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 20, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248 "2014-06-20T22:47:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/361 "2023-08-10T20:11:48Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Not everything has to be a conversation (weird as it sounds in a place like this). In the Pit that’s less weird too. Rants don’t have to be conversations. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/362 "2023-08-10T20:14:44Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The argument that’s being rebutted is that an automatic safety feature will make people more likely to act carelessly, because they’ll learn to count on the automatic system to catch their error before it becomes serious [Risk compensation / risk homeostasis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation) is, possibly, real–a “seat belts cause people to drive faster” type of thing. But it’s only really applicable when there is an underlying benefit to the risky behavior (like getting to the destination faster). That’s not true for what either smoke detectors or child detectors protect against. No one _wants_ to forget those things. So there’s no reason to believe there would be a compensation effect. And at any rate, usually the compensation effect is smaller than the overall safety effect. Maybe seat belts do cause people to drive faster, but they still have a massive net positive benefit. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/363 "2023-08-10T20:27:42Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > I once killed a phone by remembering to get the ice cream cake out of my back seat, but forgot the phone that was sitting right next to it. Your priorities sound perfectly fine to me. 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/364 "2023-08-10T23:58:07Z")
> [@Digger11](#): > > If your thought process involved the thought a using a calculator […] > > **It is human nature to become dependent on new technology.** > > If these new devices were used as an adjunct to human watchfulness and carefulness, then yes, even a marginal improvement might be worthwhile. But the overwhelming majority of people are going to have the attitude, “no alarm = no problem.” As other posters have noted, this is a really silly analogy. Being aware of your young child’s presence in the car that you are driving is not like mental arithmetic. It is not a purpose-specific technique or skill that is allowed to atrophy when the practitioner acquires a technological device that can perform the same function. Drivers who have seatbelts and airbags in their cars don’t just give up on safe driving practices because they assume the technology will protect them. Dog owners who get their dogs chipped don’t just throw away their dog-walking leashes because they depend on the technology to prevent permanently losing their pets. And parents who get some kind of “child check” reminder device for their carseat aren’t going to just stop being aware of their child’s physical presence because they rely on the technology to remind them of it. Shee- flipping- eeeeesh. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/365 "2023-08-11T00:04:20Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Drivers who have seatbelts and airbags in their cars don’t just give up on safe driving practices because they assume the technology will protect them. That is quite plausibly not true: [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0001457594900957?via%3Dihub](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0001457594900957?via%3Dihub) > The main result was that beginning wearers (group iii) showed signs of continuing behavioral adaptation, in the form of increased speed and increased propensity for close following, as well as several minor effects. The “incentive” group (group i), however, did not change driving behavior in the expected sense, i.e. in the safe direction. But that’s not the same as the smoke detector case. There’s an incentive for driving fast. Not so much by doing dumb things that might burn your house down. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/366 "2023-08-11T00:13:34Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > That is quite plausibly not true: Hmmm, that’s a pretty strong inference about the behavior of “drivers” in general you’re trying to draw from one study’s quite tentative findings about specifically incentivized driving-speed behavior on the part of a study population of drivers who habitually resist wearing seatbelts, which is where they got their “beginning wearers” subjects from. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > There’s an incentive for driving fast. And driving speed, of course, is just one small part of safe-driving practices. Even drivers who habitually resist wearing seatbelts don’t just stop paying attention to traffic laws in general when they do wear seatbelts. Any more than parents driving their young children will just stop being aware of their child’s presence when they have some kind of technological reminder of it on their carseat. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/367 "2023-08-11T00:26:04Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Any more than parents driving their young children will just stop being aware of their child’s presence when they have some kind of technological reminder of it on their carseat. I’d argue the opposite is more likely. Someone who is willing to go to the trouble to get a technological reminder is already acting on concern for their child, and I’d expect would be more likely to check for their presence than someone who hasn’t invested in such a device. Just as I expect that people who choose not to wear seatbelts just don’t prioritize safety, and in general would be more likely to drive unsafely than those who do. Not once have I clicked a seatbelt, thought, “Now I’m invincible,” and then proceeded to drive like a maniac due to the rush of power brought on by the power of a nylon strap saving me from any and all vehicular consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/368 "2023-08-11T00:26:35Z")
“Quite plausibly not true” is not exactly a “pretty strong inference”. But risk compensation is not some unknown concept. It’s been studied a fair amount in varying contexts: > **[Risk compensation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation)** > > Risk compensation is a theory which suggests that people typically adjust their behavior in response to perceived levels of risk, becoming more careful where they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected. Although usually small in comparison to the fundamental benefits of safety interventions, it may result in a lower net benefit than expected or even higher risks.\[n 1\] > By way of example, it has been observed that motorists drove closer to the vehicle in front when the ve... Like all social effects, it’s almost impossible to study in a reproducible manner. So take it as you will. But it is not an idea to simply scoff at. As I said, I think there _is_ an inherent difference between the cases where risk compensation (seemingly) has an effect vs. other cases: people compensate when there is an _incentive_ to do so. Driving fast, having more sex partners, doing more advanced skydiving techniques, etc. But those incentives are not there for things like smoke detectors or the proposed child detectors. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/369 "2023-08-11T02:17:56Z")
When our daughter was tiny, we were playing with her on the family room floor. A neighbor came to the door and we started chatting; a few minutes later we realized we’d left her alone. She was fine, but it was the same phenomenon–nothing interesting was going on and we just got distracted. Over three decades later I still get a sinking feeling just thinking about it, _and nothing happened_. Imagine if it had! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/370 "2023-08-11T02:59:23Z")
^It equals answering phone while baby is in the bathtub. People get distracted easily. I wonder is there any stats on babies being left in a car during freezing weather and dying? Surely it’s happened. Having a kid is not for the faint hearted. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/371 "2023-08-11T03:29:56Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I wonder is there any stats on babies being left in a car during freezing weather and dying? Surely it’s happened. [Yes.](https://www.romper.com/p/how-many-children-die-in-cars-in-winter-compared-to-summer-its-a-year-round-concern-22985) Warning: distressing-incident descriptions. > [@](#): > > In 2015, for example, there was a total 24 instances resulting in kids dying in cars. There was one each in April and May, six in June, three in July, and eight in August, followed by five in September, according to statistics compiled by [NoHeatStroke.org](http://NoHeatStroke.org). But there are noted instances of a child dying during each calendar month. It’s happened most in July since 1998, with around nine occurrences during that month on average. The most that ever happened in November were three in 2006; It happened one time each in December 2009 and 2012. > > The only recorded instance of a kid-left-in-the-car death in January was in 2016, when a Georgia grandmother purposely left her baby grandson in her vehicle for more than five hours while she visited with friends. The 13-month-old ultimately died of hypothermia in the car, which had been left in direct sunlight with the heat cranked up against the outside temperature of 53 degrees. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/372 "2023-08-11T03:35:16Z")
Car companies have been teaching drivers for years that careful driving is a thing of the past. How many commercials have you seen where the driver is not looking while backing out, or looking at the kids, or fiddling with the radio and almost kills themselves and/or others only to be saved by some safety features. Do the drivers in those commercials look like they almost fucked up most royally? No-They look like something slightly interesting happened for about two seconds, then continue on. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/373 "2023-08-11T12:28:21Z")
What am I missing ? I don’t understand why you would get a sinking feeling thirty years later because you left her alone in a room for a few minutes while you were at the door unless there was some detail left out, like a flight of stairs she could have tumbled down or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/374 "2023-08-11T14:00:25Z")
Long-standing guilt? I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/375 "2023-08-11T14:41:42Z")
Unless you left her in a room alone with a pack of wild hyenas (which is generally frowned upon) or something similar, I too think you’re being too hard on yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/376 "2023-08-11T14:49:35Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > reminds you to check the back seat when you park the car after driving. The last car I rented (a new Ford Escape) did the same. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/377 "2023-08-11T16:16:30Z")
I was thinking “security baboon” myself. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/378 "2023-08-20T21:37:41Z")
One time I was loading up my dog in our hatchback with some camping gear. I got in the car and started to back up, but left the hatchback open. My dog jumped out and I came very close to running over her. That was 20 years ago and I still think about it. Horrible mistakes can happen. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/379 "2023-08-21T03:30:18Z")
I truly believe that people today, from even an incredibly young age, are completely overwhelmed with not only today’s technology for navigating the day, but also the expectations placed on people to navigate so much of that technology at the same time. There’s just way too much going on in one’s life now to not make some incredibly bone-headed mistake. [This _Pickles_ comic strip from yesterday](https://www.gocomics.com/pickles/2023/08/20) shows how easy it is to make a drastic mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248/380 "2023-08-21T05:08:59Z")
I agree. I saw a lady in a parking lot go to her driver door. Baby on the hip. I’m thinking, oh no, she’s gonna drive holding the kid. Nope she started the car. Left her door opened (restarting unaided from a fob sometimes causes keys locked in a started vehicle). Opened the backdoor and spent a long time buckling the kid in a car seat. That always makes me happy. I had escape artists, the only way to insure they stayed seated was proper tight buckling. Put her purse in. Got inside and buckled herself in. Looked around the car. I assumed she was looking at the backup camera or the radio or something. All this time she had her phone squeezed to her shoulder by her head, yakking the whole time. She drove off without loading her purchases from the shopping cart into the car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-forget-their-babies-in-the-car-on-a-hot-day/691248.md?page=20)