Has hot car death become a priority for the US Congress?

On November 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure and Jobs Act which included a mandate for action by U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) aimed to reduce hot car deaths (please refer to the link located at the end of this posting for additional information).

However, the U.S. DOT has not yet required occupant detection and alert systems minimizing these tragedies.  Currently, some form of occupant detection has been introduced, but no alert systems yet to as be finalized in the Act.  The national average for hot car deaths is at 38, yet these are only documented cases.  Sadly, these numbers could be higher as some cases were not accounted for.  See the following link below for additional details.

As shown in the picture below, of the 30 cases documented as hot car deaths, it is appalling that 21 cases or 70% are classified as either unknowingly left in vehicle or left child with circumstances not clear.  Last year, we discussed postings extensively for reasons why we are either distracted, or why we forget tasks which we should remember to do. More information on each of the hot car deaths, see the following link attached: 2022 Hot Car Deaths | KidsandCars.org.

As discussed in the posting for November 10th, 2021 we discovered some reasons why we may forget:

  • Cue dependent theory of forgetting: Information is stored in memory but can only be recalled by retrieval cues
  • Poor health condition and lack of sleep
  • Raise in emotion:  sudden spikes of emotional experience can make memory difficult to retrieval (blockage)
  • Retrieval failure memory theory:  common reason why we don’t remember is because it never made it to the long-term memory in the first place
  • Amnesia: inability to recall memories (retrograde: cannot remember before the trauma) or create new memories (anterograde: inability to create new memories after trauma).  Some may be due to neurological trauma

But how can we remind ourselves that we have a child or a toddler in the backseat of our vehicle when our lives are full of distractions?

Currently, traditional methods and simple technological gadgets are in place, but there are certain restrictions which only limit the effectiveness of the alert systems available today.  However, with the introduction of the Baby Car Safe Kit, no product in the market today can compare with what is available as a complete protection kit for your family.  As described in past two postings, we have thought of different scenarios so that you can be confident that this kit can be more suitable for you than others that are available today.

As a reminder, we are still looking for beta testers!  If you are interested in becoming a beta tester for an innovative product, please do not hesitate to log on our website link https://babycarsafe.com!

From all of us at The Rocket Innovation, we wish you all a happy and safe holiday season!

Pic source:

injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/motor-vehicle-safety-issues/hotcars/

Occupant-Detection-vs-Hot-Cars-Act-Passed.png (1998×2585) (kidsandcars.wpenginepowered.com)