9:24
- family
- August 10, 2019
I'm a cautious mom who had a hot car scare
"I couldn’t feel my extremities and I screamed, 'Oh my God, the baby.'"
9:24
\"A lot of people say, \"leave your cell phone in the back.\" That does not work for me, but I know it works for other families. That’s why I love the left shoe thing, You’re not going anywhere without your left shoe,\" she explained.
Holley's plea to parents is to do what works for their family.
\"Ask or demand\" that your child's day care calls your cell phone or job, should your child not arrive on a scheduled drop-off day. In addition, if an extended family member is driving with your child, develop a safety plan with them as well.
\"It is one of the cruelest things ever to say to family and friends that you're afraid they might leave a child in the car, but it's also one of the kindest,\" Holley told \"GMA.\" \"It's insulting, but at the same time comes from a place of pure love because it's such an easy vulnerability to overlook.\"
View this post on InstagramA post shared by KidsAndCars.org (@kidsandcars_org) on Jun 25, 2019 at 1:45pm PDT
\"It's not a great philosophical debate. The technology already exists. There's not a huge expense involved,\" Holley said during her plea to lawmakers at the May press event.
\"Every time I open my car door all summer and that wave of hot air hits me, I am overcome with the thought of the babies that might at this very moment, be trapped in a hot vehicle and need our help,\" she added.
\"...and no one can hear them, not even their parents. \"My car can tell me my tire pressure or if my battery is dying. But it can't provide a simple alarm to prevent anyone from mistakenly letting a baby or pet be locked inside?\"
While Holley advocates for families developing their own layers of protection, she insists that employing new technology requiring the detection of life in vehicles, would be the ultimate solution.
\"Heartfelt pleas to family and friends to have a plan in place is not solving this,\" she told \"GMA.\" \"The hope is for lawmakers to have car manufacturers help put an end to this.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/cautious-mom-near-misshot-car-plea-lawmakers-MAIN-ht-np-190801_hpEmbed_13x10_384.jpg\")
In 2017, General Motor's rolled out its Rear Seat Reminder System in some of its cars.
GM's feature uses back door sensors that become activated when either the rear door is opened or closed within 10 minutes of the vehicle being started, or while the vehicle is running. Under these circumstances, when you reach your destination a reminder appears on the dashboard as well as an audible chime notification.
This year, Hyundai rolled out a new technology in the redesigned 2019 Santa Fe SUV that could help prevent parents from leaving a child in the back seat of a hot car.
\"The safety system adds ultrasonic motion sensors to detect children left in the rear seat, but only if car doors are locked,\" according to Consumer Reports.
With the available UVO app, the 2020 Kia Telluride offers a rear occupant alert. If the Telluride is off, sensors will detect if someone is still in the back seat of the vehicle.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by KidsAndCars.org (@kidsandcars_org) on Jul 31, 2019 at 12:37pm PDT
\"It is not fair that our family got to celebrate Finn's second birthday this week and that Jack's family [from the day care] didn't,\" Holley said at the Capitol. \"All because we were fortunate enough to catch our mental lapse in time.\"
\"And it's not fair that Jack's family acted out of pure love, buckling him into a rear-facing car seat as far from the airbag as they could get him ... that last act of love cost him his life and lost them their precious, happy, round-faced boy.\"
She went on, \"Awareness of hot car deaths is at an all-time high with media coverage and NHTSA ads. We can't do much more to educate people. And I'm proof that we can't convince people that this could happen to them. And yet, hot car deaths are on the rise, setting a record last year.\"
\"I can't bear for 2019 to be another record year and for us still not to have taken this basic step toward protecting these sweet babies' lives. This one is easy, and everyone wins.\" \"
While apps and car seat sensors can serve as reminders, Janette Fennell, president and founder of KidsAndCars.org, stresses that parents should have additional layers of protection when trying to prevent hot car-related tragedies.
Here are Kids and Cars' safety tips for caregivers.
1. Look before you lock: open the back door every time you park your car to ensure no one was left behind.
2. Put your cell phone, wallet, work badge or handbag in the back seat to remind you to open the back door each every time you park.
3. Keep a stuffed animal in your baby's car seat, then, place it on the front seat as a reminder when the baby is in the back seat.
4. Ask your babysitter or day care center to call you if your child hasn't arrived as scheduled.
5. Clearly communicate who is responsible for getting each child out of the vehicle. Miscommunication can lead to everyone thinking someone else removed the child.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by KidsAndCars.org (@kidsandcars_org) on Jul 11, 2019 at 10:58am PDT
1. Keep vehicles locked at all times, even especially in the garage or driveway. Ask neighbors and visitors to do the same.
2. Never leave car keys or remote openers within reach of children. Fennell said that it's crucial to keep your child from getting into the car, rather than teaching them how to get out: \"Be sure your neighbors can lock their vehicles as well.\"
3. If a child is missing, immediately check the inside, floorboards, and trunk of all vehicles in the area very carefully.
4. Teach children to honk the horn if they become stuck inside a car.
\"What we always say is that if there's a body of water nearby, check that first,\" Fennell said. \"Then carefully check all the passenger compartment of all nearby vehicles in the area and check inside the trunk.\"
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