“Forgotten Backseat Baby” Syndrome: an Unimaginable Danger
“Huh? Forgotten what???” is what I imagine you are asking after reading the title. The next question that probably comes to mind is, “what kind of idiot would forget his/ her own child in a car?” As the parent survivor of a child who was tragically lost to vehicular #heatstroke in 2011 when her daddy forgot to drop her off at daycare that fateful morning, I WISH I could tell you that only idiots make this kind of mistake; that only a selfish monster could do such a deed…..sadly, most of the more than 600 kids who have died from being left in a hot car since 1998 were victims of what I like to call “forgotten backseat baby” syndrome; a mistake committed not by idiots or monsters, but a mistake made by folks you would never in a million years imagine: caring, loving, responsible parents. Most of them took nearly every precaution to child-proof their homes and to assure that the car seat was installed correctly; many of them also took parenting classes in preparation for their bundle of joy’s arrival. Sadly, most of these parents also never imagined the remote possibility of forgetting their child in the backseat of a vehicle. In other words, folks just like YOU and ME, sadly, are capable of forgetting our most precious cargo in the backseat of our cars under the right conditions.
Your protective defense mechanisms are probably kicking in right now and you are probably saying “yeah right, not a chance lady”. …..but for those of you still in denial that you could make such a mistake, here is a little food for thought.
Have you ever, in a moment of multi-tasking, sleep deprivation, running late for work, or being severely fatigued after a bought of illness (you, your spouse, your kids), done any of the following?
- Forgotten to turn off the headlights before exiting your car? (apparently so many of us in the past drained our batteries by doing this that most cars now have automatic function of headlights, or at least have an alert that “dings” when you open the door to let you know you forgot to turn off the lights)
- Left your ATM card in the machine after a transaction? (again, so many of us were guilty of this behavior that now most ATM machines have quick swipe technology so that we no longer have to wait for our cards to be returned)
- Forgotten to buckle your seatbelt? (are you thinking of that annoying alarm right now? So many front passengers have forgotten this safety routine in the past that the auto industry has decided we need this annoying reminder to protect our front seat cargo)
- Forgotten to turn off the coffee maker? (note that most brands now have an auto-shut-off feature for us poor souls who just aren’t fully awake until chugging a cup o’ joe)
- Walked into a room with a purpose to get/ do something, then arriving only to find that you couldn’t remember why you were there – no matter how hard to try?
If you have ever been guilty of any of those behaviors (or similar cases of stress-induced memory failure), then yes, unfortunately, you too are capable of forgetting a baby in the backseat.
I WISH I could tell you only a monster could do such a thing. Unfortunately, even the best of mortals can suffer the devastating consequences of “forgotten backseat baby” syndrome under the right conditions. That’s why I advocate implementation of safety nets/ plans for ALL child transport activities to verify arrival and/ or absence in a timely manner…..EVEN if you are still in denial that you are capable of forgetting your precious backseat cargo, consider a child transport safety plan an “insurance policy” to make sure you prove me wrong.
I lost my daughter, Sophia Rayne “Ray Ray” Cavaliero, to vehicular #heatstroke on Wednesday afternoon, May 25, 2011. That morning, our entire family overslept. Speaking in retrospect (after observing my 20 month old twins during the same phase of their lives), I think we overslept because it was the first time that Ray Ray finally slept through the night. We always called her our little alarm clock, because without fail she would awaken to nurse at 5:00 am, then sweetly drift back to sleep until about 7:30 am. Then we usually played with her for an hour or so before her daddy took her to daycare around 9:00 am. Ray Ray’s behavior was so predictable that I no longer set an alarm clock to awaken. That morning began with me awakening to my sweet child giving me precious kisses all over my face, followed by a glance at the clock. As I saw the time of 9:43 am, chaos ensued in my home. We had all overslept! Brett rushed to get dressed for work; I rushed to get Ray Ray fed and dressed for daycare. The entire family then hurried to daddy’s truck (I was still in PJs).
The defining event that led to Ray Ray’s death due to vehicular heatstroke was something very simple: ONE
WRONG TURN. My husband usually made a LEFT turn at the bottom of a major hill near our home to drop our child off at daycare (located less than 10 minutes from our home). After dropping her off, he would circle back onto the same major highway and head to his office, less than 15 minutes from our home. That morning for unknown reasons he made a RIGHT turn at that critical intersection. As Ray Ray sat rear-facing and quietly in the backseat, he had no clue along his work route that she was still in the truck….he couldn’t see her; he couldn’t hear her. WHY did he make this wrong turn? We have asked this question daily for almost three years and still have no answer. What we know (through the criminal investigation) did not contribute to the wrong turn was his phone—records show that he wasn’t talking, emailing, or texting…..Could you ever imagine that ONE WRONG TURN, as I am sure you have probably made a few times in your life as well, could have such devastating consequences???? We couldn’t either….We still can’t; but this is our reality, like a nightmare from which we cannot awaken….cannot awaken because sadly it is not a dream.
The story I have just told to you replicates the story of more than one hundred families since 1998, as forgotten childcare drop-off is the leading source of child hot car death (aka child vehicular heatstroke or hyperthermia). Another resounding theme in nearly every “forgotten backseat baby” syndrome tale resulting in child hot car death is a change in routine on the day of the tragedy. For us, that change in routine was oversleeping, with a resultant chaotic start to our day. For other families, that change in routine was commonly an alternate person dropping the child off at daycare (one not accustomed to doing so). Other common changes in routine that we have seen in these tragedies include changes in school routine–either at the start of summer when grade school has just ended or in August at back to school time, ESPECIALLY where there are multiple siblings in the family and one starts kindergarten and the younger still needs to be dropped off at daycare.
I have shared my story with you today to commemorate the upcoming National Heat Awareness Day (designated by the National Weather Service/ NOAA) this Friday, May 23, 2014. The rate of child vehicular heatstroke tragedies begins to rise exponentially around this date, peaking in August (aka “back to school” time—remember that change in routine risk factor I alluded to earlier???). This year for the first time, numerous national child safety advocates, including the staff at Pediatric Safety, will join forces to commemorate and co-promote this day. We will be posting hourly child vehicular heatstroke facts and prevention tips on social media outlets to raise public awareness of this often unrecognized danger to child passenger safety, focusing on “forgotten backseat baby” syndrome, which is every parent’s unimaginable risk and the leading cause of child hot car deaths. Please join us and help spread vital information to PREVENT child vehicular heatstroke by sharing our social media posts and encouraging your friends and family to do the same. We will be using the tag “#heatstroke” on all of our posts and encourage you to do the same.
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Editor’s Note: We are just at the beginning of summer and 5 children have already died this year. Please reach out to everyone you know, to everyone who follows you on Twitter or Facebook or any other social media you have access to – and help us raise awareness of this terrible tragedy.
All it will take is a minute to post any one of these:
- Call 911 if you see a child alone in a car. ACT to prevent child vehicular #heatstroke
- Most kids who die of vehicular #heatstroke are accidentally forgotten in the backseat by a loving, responsible parent.#LOOKbeforeyouLOCK
- Forgotten childcare drop-off is the #1 source of child vehicular #heatstroke. #RayRaysPledge
- A child overheats 3-5 times faster than an adult. Never leave your child alone in a car. Prevent vehicular #heatstroke
- 30% of kids who died in a hot car gained access to an unlocked vehicle. Prevent vehicular #heatstroke
- The inside temperature of a car increases more than 40 degrees in less than an hour. Prevent vehicular #heatstroke
- Most kids who die in a hot car are less than 2 years of age. Prevent vehicular #heatstroke
- Most common factor associated with parents who forgot their kids in the backseat: change in routine. Prevent vehicular #heatstroke
- Is your child in daycare? Make an absence verification plan w ur provider aka #RayRaysPledge. Prevent vehicular #heatstroke
- Create reminders for all child transport activities eg: purse/ briefcase/ cellphone in backseat. Prevent vehicular #heatstroke
If we can save just one child’s life, all our efforts will have been worth it.
Emma’s Inspirations
When our daughter Emma was an infant, we moved into our new house. As parents of six children, we were very excited about getting to this new house and getting some much needed unloading done! Pulling into the driveway, we all became very excited and quickly left the car to see the house. There was so much to do – everyone went off in different directions.
I had assumed that my husband or one of the older kids had taken Emma from her car seat 
(as that was almost ALWAYS the case) and he thought that it was me who had brought her inside. Making the assumption that everything was okay, we went about unpacking and arranging our new home.
In a sudden moment of panic, I realized that our baby girl wasn’t even in the house. Nearly 45 minutes after we had arrived, I rushed to our car for Emma.
The sun was hot for a spring day. I cannot tell you the thoughts and fears, and the horror that welled up inside of me as I was sure I had harmed our baby girl! I thank God every day that my older son had opened the back window on the ride up because he felt car-sick, or Emma may not have become the vibrant six year old she is today!
From that point on we left notes in all the cars. “Where’s Emma?” was our catch phrase. We were determined to always check the seats and never let this happen to us again.
When my daughter and I read about the school principal who, out of routine, left her baby in a closed car all day, and the dad who forgot the baby was in his back seat because he didn’t ‘usually’ drop him off at child-care, we were sad and sickened by their tragedies… yet we knew how ‘routine’ oriented we all are today… and how easy it is for this tragedy to take place:
- An average of 40 children die each year in closed vehicles… and numerous others have been left alone in closed cars by adults who assume the car is a ‘safe place’ for their children…
- How many bus drivers do we read about who fail to “check the seats”!
- What is typically not realized is how quickly the air inside our vehicles can become saunas for our precious little ones… with temperatures escalating 20 to 30, or even 40 degrees higher INSIDE the car than the air OUTSIDE the car! According to an article in New Science Magazine (July 5, 2005) , a study done out of Stanford University re-echoes these facts: cars become ovens, even while outside temperatures are on the ‘cool’ side!
- Children’s bodies’ heat up 3 to 5 times faster than adults, and a child can be critically injured or tragically dead within minutes!
- In 2001, according to Kids N Cars, there were approx 20 child deaths due to hyperthermia. In 2011, there were 33. In 2010 there were over 49 (the highest number of fatalities in one year – ever)
My daughter and I remembered our ‘notes’. I thought of easy ways to leave a ‘note’ affixed to car windows, in key spots, to help remind us to “check the seats before we leave”. We decided to design decals to help save lives, as well as awaken our awareness of the dangers of vehicle suffocation for small children and pets! This is how we came up with Emma’s Inspirations.
I came up with the idea of static-cling decals to adhere (but not STICK with adhesive) to the car windows. I wanted to add a couple of ‘check’ marks to the decals with a stick figure boy and girl (some with a cat and dog added as well) and add a phrase that rhymed to increase the ease of remembering the dangers of suffocation for adults… and to educate children as well. I thought the phrase would help develop a new mindset for everyone… and help educate our children about automobile safety- the same way we educate them about outlet and toaster safety.
I thought 3 decals for each car was a good idea so I put them together in packages of 6 … enough for two cars. One could be placed just above the driver’s side window door-lock, another just below the rear-view mirror, (or the left corner of the windshield), and one for the back window corner. Some moms stick one on the kitchen window as well; to remind them to keep any cars outside LOCKED from little hands or hide and seek players! Others place one on or above their house alarm to remind them to check the seats.
Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post wrote a painfully candid article on this subject on Sunday, March 8, 2009. He recounts the tragedy of three families as they endure the heartache of recognition that their children died a horrifically “modern” death; they suffocated in seats their parents never took a second glance in! These are situations no family ever would have anticipated.
Emma’s window decals are that little reminder you need when things are moving at a fast pace. By sticking these decals in the right places you will have a simple and affordable reminder to check again. A reminder so simple …yet one that could save your child’s life!
HEALTHFUL HINTS
Many parents are unaware of the dangers lurking around parked cars. According to the Kids N Cars national database, there are a number of injuries that can happen in a ‘MOMENT’ to children left unattended in or around motor vehicles. Here are just a few things to watch for:
- A child can suffocate in unattended vehicles;
- Children can get their heads and hands caught in power windows;
- They can inadvertently shift the car into gear…or fall out windows and doors;
- “Frontovers” and “Backovers” are responsible for approx 61% of non-traffic fatalities for children under the age of 15;
- We must be of a mind to NEVER LEAVE OUR CHILDREN ALONE IN OR AROUND CARS.
The decals from Emma’s Inspirations are an accident prevention tool to remind us to DOUBLE CHECK our seats, REMOVE any passengers, and LOCK our EMPTY parked cars from curious little ones. Other areas where safety stickers can keep your children safe from harm:
- ID stickers for child safety seats – if you were ever in an accident, it would provide key information about your child to caregivers that you may be unable to communicate. You can usually get these at your local pharmacy or stationery store…
- You might want to place a decal or sticker on a house or apartment window or door to alert emergency personnel to the presence of children in the home.
- Poison Control stickers should be placed on phones themselves or next to the phone and/or on an inside cabinet door.
- Medical alert bracelets or anklets or stickers or decals on a child’s seat or diaper bag or person to warn of potentially life-threatening allergies.
- Decals and stickers are good to remind ‘no metal’ in the microwave or toaster.
- Stickers and decals are small, yet significant aids in helping us keep track of the never ending flow of “things to remember to mention” or ”do” or “watch out for”… as we manage the literal “ins” and “outs” of our days… and care for the people, who at the end of our day, we do it ALL for… our children!
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Editor’s Note: we first ran this post in November of 2009. With the weather warming up and National Heat Awareness Day on Friday the 23rd, we wanted to take a moment to share it with you again as a reminder to Please Check the Seats Before You Lock!
The Dark Side of Golf Carts: Hidden Danger for your Family
If you have gone to play golf in the last 30 years or so, then you are probably familiar with golf carts. Playing golf and driving the cart around the course are part of what makes playing golf so much fun and up until a few years ago, golf carts have mainly been relegated to golf courses and maybe some fancy golf retirement communities around the country. But if you look around now, golf carts are everywhere. No longer are golf carts relegated to the golf course and surrounding communities. Golf carts and golf cart ownership have gone through the roof. Market research firm IBIS World forecasts that by 2016, 76,685 golf carts will be sold annually in the U.S and according to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS,) all but four states have laws that allow golf carts or other low speed vehicles to be driven on public roads. Alaska and Texas even let them be driven on roads with speed limits up to 45 mph, showing that golf carts are becoming a part of our everyday lives and accommodating them will be the next step.
Down here in sunny south Florida, golf carts are almost as common as cars. They have made taking the family to work, school, the park, and any place close by a much easier and more fun way to travel. Not to mention the cost effectiveness of saving on gas these days. When I drop my son at school I easily see 10 children being dropped off by parents in a golf cart and there are even golf cart parking spots in the teacher’s parking lot. There is no doubt golf carts are more fun. However, golf carts are giving people a false sense of security. When these carts were mainly on golf courses and driven by adults you rarely if ever heard of a serious accident involving one, but now with the exploding popularity and varying age range and experience of the drivers, this is changing as well and especially for children.
During 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports dozens of people died in golf-cart related accidents. According to The University of Alabama at Birmingham, the national estimate for golf cart-related injuries was more than 15,000 annually during its recent four-year study. The injuries were highest among males, ages 10 to 19, and those 80 and older with fractures and head trauma being the most common injuries found in the study. According to an article in the July 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the rate of injury related to golf cart accidents rose more than 130 percent from 1990 to 2006. During this period, about 147,000 golf cart-related injuries were reported involving people as old as 96 years and as young as two months.
The numbers do not lie. Golf carts have a dark side and need to be taken more seriously both by lawmakers and parents.
From my own experience as a paramedic, what I’m seeing is that this is only getting worse. People are making the carts faster and the drivers are getting younger. We had a case here where a teenager flipped his cart with his 5 year old sister in the cart and we had to trauma alert the 5 year old. She ended up fine but it was still scary.
If you do happen to own one or are thinking about buying one for you and your family, think as you would when buying a car, think safety first. Seat belts are standard in cars and with the main injury from golf carts being ejection from the cart; they should be in your cart as well. Even if your local laws do not require lights, reflectors, a horn and safety belts, they should all be a part of your vehicle, because a golf cart is a vehicle and you will be sharing the road with actual cars. When driving the cart, please remember to drive safely, the website www.golfcartsafety.com has a great webpage and article on safely operating your golf cart, please take a look at this article before heading out or handing over the keys to anyone driving your cart.
As always, I hope you all have a happy and great summer and above all a Safe Summer.
Drive Safe / Bicycle Safe – For Your Kids’ Sake
How many times have you done it? How many times have you looked at your phone while driving? How many times have you looked for what only seems a second only to find out you have drifted into another lane or even oncoming traffic and had to swerve back into your lane? More than once I bet. We all have. Now, how many times have you seen that person ahead of you on the road swerve and you are sure they are texting while driving, and you find out you are right. More than once I bet. The fact of that matter is that with the growing number of visual devices in your vehicle, such as the navigation screen, the apps on cell phones and tablets and all these things that supposedly help us to be more productive in our daily lives, drivers today are more distracted than ever. What makes this worse is that we’re often not alone on the road…
While the statistical data for biking is not pleasing – “More children ages 5 to 14 are seen in emergency departments for injuries related to biking than any other sport” – the good news is that the data seems to indicate that overall fatalities among pedestrians and bicyclists is getting lower every year. The 59 pedal/cyclist fatalities in 2011 for the 14-and-younger age group represent a decrease of 58 percent from the 141 killed in 2002, with the 8- to 14-year-old age group showing the largest percentage decrease (65%). I can tell you however that even though responding to calls involving cars, pedestrians and bicyclists getting hit is less common than it used to be, when it does happen it’s a very bad scene and is commonly caused by the driver being distracted by something in the vehicle.
You have heard all the ads and seen the billboards and commercials about not texting while driving and I hope that you have made the decision not to text and drive and should you be one of the unlucky ones to receive a ticket for texting while driving, better a ticket than an accident.
Having said that drivers are more distracted than ever and at the same time having the desire to get ourselves and our families outside on our bikes, we have a responsibility to ourselves and our families to take precautions both before and while heading out for a bike ride. I am a real proponent of preparation and prepping everyone’s gear is a must. It does not matter when you ride. Bright colors are bright and should be worn no matter the time of day. Helmets are always essential and I can remember many times they have saved a biker from serious injury. Reflectors/LED’s/head and tail lights, you name it, and they all help. Knowing the area and route that will be taken can save time and injuries. Will there be cars nearby?, Will we be crossing streets?, Will there be rough terrain, Who will ride in front and in back of the group and what will they say to alert everyone?. The list can go on forever…
The point is to think ahead and prepare for the fact that drivers are more distracted than ever and keep everyone as safe as possible while enjoying a great ride.
Be Safe.
References:
NHTSA Proposes Side-Impact Crash Testing for Car Seats
On January 22nd, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) filed for proposed changes to the federal motor vehicle safety standards for child-restraint systems. For the first time, the changes would require side-impact crash testing on all car seats sold in the US for children weighing up to 40lbs.
Until now, federal rules have only covered how well car seats protect children in crashes from the front. But, as seen in a NY Times discussion of the proposed changes, “according to Matthew R. Maltese, head of biomechanics research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, side-impact crashes can hurt children in a variety of ways. While the door can intrude and strike a child in a car seat, the sheer impact of a collision can cause a child’s head to move suddenly and hit the seat or a part of the vehicle’s interior.” Now, for the first time, we are taking positive steps to prevent this.
According to the NHTSA press release, “car seats would be tested in a specially designed sled test that simulates a “T-bone” crash, where the front of a vehicle traveling 30mph strikes the side of a small passenger vehicle traveling at 15mph.” Also new to this test: a recently developed side-impact crash test dummy that represents a 3-year old child will be used in addition to the existing 12 month-old child dummy.
The goal of the proposed test will be for car seats to demonstrate that they can safely protect a child from harmful head contact with a crushed vehicle door as well as reduce the overall impact of the crash forces on a child’s head and chest. NHTSA estimates that making this change would save 5 lives and prevent 64 injuries annually.
If the proposal is adopted, there would be a 3-year time-frame after final rule publication for car-seat manufacturers to alter or adjust their products to meet the new requirements. And then it will likely be up to consumers to purchase a new car seat to replace their existing one. For now, NHTSA has posted its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (in .pdf form) which provides 90 days for members of the general public to comment.
On a final note – my personal belief is that this is way overdue – and with 5 lives and 64 injuries experienced by children annually, a 3-year time-frame to meet the new requirements is 3-years too long. One preventable death is by far one too many. Would love to hear your thoughts…
Car Seat LATCH Rules to Change in January 2014
A new rule that goes into effect in January 2014 will require car-seat makers to start using labels 
that warn parents NOT to use the Latch anchor system to install a car seat if the combined weight of the child and the seat is 65 pounds or higher.
The LATCH anchors (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) were designed to make child seats easier to install and have been required in vehicles since 2001, but child-safety seat advocates say the strength of the anchors can’t be guaranteed because they don’t take into account the weight of the child seat, which typically weighs 15 to 33 lbs.
In a USA Today article, according to Joseph Colella, one of five child-safety advocates who petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a change to the rule, “the anchor requirements are based on old child seats and outdated recommendations on how long kids should be in child seats“.
But children are getting heavier and staying in child seats longer. In 2012 the American Academy of Pediatrics and NHTSA issued enhanced new guidelines on booster seat use for older children, recommending that children ride in a booster seat until they are big enough to fit in a seat belt properly, typically when the child is somewhere between 8-12 years old and about 4 feet 9 inches tall. Colella says “car makers aren’t able to guarantee the safety of heavier kids given the strength of LATCH anchors”. Very important to know!
So what does this mean for you?
Transportation Department spokeswoman Lynda Tran told USA Today: “While Latch makes it easier to properly install car seats in vehicles, it’s important for parents and caregivers to know that securing a child seat with a seat belt is equally as safe — and that they have the flexibility to use either system.”
So…if you have a child that weighs around 30 lbs, double check the weight of your car seat with the manufacturer. Make sure the weight of your child + the weight of that seat does not exceed 65 lbs. And while you’re having that conversation with them, double check the weight their LATCH anchors are rated to support. And if you have any doubt – use a seat belt instead of the LATCH to secure the seat. And have it checked at a NHTSA Car Seat Inspection Station. Use this locator to find the one that’s closest to you.
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Editors note: this post was originally run in June 2012, when the decision to change the LATCH rules was originally made. It is re-published here with minimal edits as very little has changed since then. Personally, I find it immensely disappointing that we would wait a year and a half to implement a change to a warning label when the lives of children are at risk.
Would love to hear your thoughts if you’d like to share them…
