Children and animals being left in hot cars whether accidentally or on purpose while making just a “short stop” is making the news again especially as this heat wave smothers the country. So I am going to share this memory from the past and hope it saves a life…
Years ago, a member of my military unit forgot that he was supposed to drop his small child off at the day care center on the way to work… The child apparently fell asleep and the sergeant forgot and was preoccupied with thoughts of work, parked his car and went inside… Luckily someone else walking through the parking lot noticed the child and the child did not suffer any ill effects.
At the time, I had two personnel who worked for me who also drove their kids to day care on the way to work… After a bit of brainstorming (I can’t say how original my idea was…) but I went down to the exchange and bought two large “Teddy Bears” and gave one to each of my folks… And to make an impression I wrote orders directing them to always carry that bear in their car and if there was no child in the car seat, the bear got strapped in, but when the child occupied the car seat, the bear got strapped into the passenger side… This way, with the bear riding “Shotgun,” it acted as a reminder there is a child in the car seat…
My commander agreed that I had the authority to issue these orders to my personnel and they had to follow them as long as they were driving on base, but he took that idea and we used unit funds to buy Teddy Bears for all the personnel in the unit who had children in car seats… He was especially appreciative of this idea since he had to brief the base commander on the incident and what corrective action was taken to prevent it from occurring again… Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that the base commander thought that was a great idea, he did not authorize base funds to buy bears for all eligible personnel on base…
In the subsequent years (I served over 30-years…) I was able to get the Unit’s Booster clubs to buy the bears…
Now, if you are still with me and you have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or just friends with children, think about buying some Teddy Bears for them and you might just save a life!
On average - 38 kids die each year from being left in a hot car. From my understanding it’s an extremely painful way to die. And there are HUNDREDS of pets each year that die from inside a hot car. Both those numbers should be ZERO.
And, the old excuse of, “I forgot that they were in the back seat”, is no longer believable if someone is driving a newer vehicle. For several years, vehicles have had visual and auditory reminders to “check the back seat” if one of the rear doors was opened prior to–or during–the current drive cycle.
I think this feature is a wonderful reminder, but most younger families do not own one of these late model vehicles… My 2020 Honda and 2019 Toyota do not have this reminder function. So, for the time being, I think the Bear is pretty good reminder…
I don’t disagree with any of this but let’s drill back a little to “the good ole days”. Kids used to ride in the front seat in clear view. Then safety regulations forced them in the back seat, strapped in, with high seats that limited visibility of the. back seat and with explosive air bags. Oh sure the safety police talked about kids dying in accidents but just another example of unintended consequences. Do these regulators sleep well at nights?
I remember them well, I rode in the front seat, even standing up for a better view… I rode in pickup truck on the highway leaning on the cab so the wind blew in my face and even riding in station wagons and pickup trucks sitting on the open tailgate, letting my feet scuff the roadway’ but those days are gone…
But our parents did not have the distractions parents of today have to contend with day in and day out…
How many windows do you break before you find one that is safety glass? Vehicles like yours have laminated glass for the door windows, you would need to break the back glass or cargo area glass.
Laminated glass seems like a hazard during rescue operations.
Our spring-loaded punches granulate the glass.
Assumed same on later-model vehicles.
After opening through the window, we unlock and, if possible, open the door.
A certain outdoor flea market in Connecticut makes public address announcements about a dog found in a patron’s car, “If you don’t report to your car in 10 minutes we will break in the window and confiscate your pet”
Laminated glass would explain the problem police have trying to open a locked door by beating on the glass with their nightsticks and even their service weapons…
I remember when it was truly safe to leave us kids in the car for awhile with the windows cranked down if it was a hot summer day. Of course, my parents always turned off the engine and took the car key with them. Once upon a time.
I grew up with crank windows and vinyl seats you had to put a title on I. Summer to keep the burning to a minimum. Chrome belt buckles.on the black vinyl of the Datsun wagon. Those flip.out side windows on the 88 grand voyager did almost nothing to cool the cabin. But that had A/C
My first car in 1975 was a 1973 Toyota Corolla with black vinyl seats and interior. I kept a folded beach towel on the drivers bucket seat year round to keep from getting burned in summer and frozen in winter. Drove it twelve years.
