Accidental Car Deaths of Children

Even for those of us who have never lost a child, we would all agree that the pain from such a loss is tremendous and not one you can get over. After all, your child is a part of you. As my mother said after my brother was killed some years ago, "When your child dies, a piece of you dies as well." What if by chance you were somehow responsible for your child's death? I'm not talking about in cases of severe abuse or crazy parents who murder their children. I'm talking about accidental deaths like running or backing over your child as you're pulling out of the driveway. Or suppose you accidentally left your child in the car during the summer months and the child died from the heat. Incidents like this unfortunately happen often. According to statistics from Kids and Cars, two children are killed each week from back-over accidents. Nearly fifty children are injured per week from such accidents on in majority of the cases, a parent or relative is responsible.

Surely some people may be saying how could you not see a child. Some may accuse you of being careless for not looking to make sure you were clear to move your vehicle. But the truth of the matter is, sometimes children dart out behind you as you are backing up and they are so small you might not see them through your mirror. Or if you happen to see them, you may not be able to brake in time to keep from hitting them. Certain types of vehicles such as trucks, hummers, vans, and SUVs make it nearly impossible for drivers to see if a child has darted out behind them. Unfortunately, they don't know they have run over something or someone until it is too late.

As for leaving children or infants in hot cars, many might not be as sympathetic. Naturally the first question that arises is, "How could you possibly forget you had a child in the car?" In one families case who suffered such a tragedy, the father was busy caring for him and his wife's twelve children. The two year old who had been in the car with him as he picked up and dropped off some of her older siblings at various practices and after school activities, had fallen asleep in her car seat. Upon returning home, tired from a day of running errands and looking to get dinner started for his family, he accidentally left the poor child in the car and didn't realize it until hours later. Sadly, by the time anyone realized she was missing, she had already died in the car from the heat.

How should the law handle cases such as these? Should these parents be thrown in jail for the accidental deaths of their children or should they receive a more lenient punishment? After all, the guilt and grief over knowing you are responsible for your child's death has to be among the most horrible feelings one can experience. Not to mention the years of mental anguish that follow from situations like this. Most often, parents are not given harsh sentences for such accidental crimes like these. The judges usually take all of the surrounding circumstances into consideration before imposing any type of punishment in such cases.

So what can be done to stop such accidents? The answer sounds simple: Know where your children are at all times. You have to make sure that they are accounted for. In many cases where parents backed over their child, they thought the child was inside of the house or at least in the eyeshot of another adult. With the parents who have accidentally left their children locked in cars, many of them were multi-tasking and trying to do several things at once and say they honestly forgot. In both cases, parents and caregivers will just have to use more caution. No one wants such a horrible thing to happen. It's no doubt that these parents loved their children; they just made a very critical error that unfortunately resulted in the life of their child.

Congress currently has legislation pending that would require automakers to set rear visibility standards for vehicles and install technology to alert drivers to obstructions behind them. Such legislation is needed and will greatly reduce or eliminate the number of back-over accidents. Drivers can't solely rely on such technology though, they still have to be extremely cautious and make sure their child hasn't run outside after them. As for the parents and caregivers who accidentally leave small children inside of vehicles, the only option is to check the car before you get out. Look in the back seats, look inside of rear facing car seats, and make sure your child is accounted for as soon as you get to your destination. And most importantly, never leave children unattended in vehicles while you go run errands no matter how fast you think you can be.

No parent ever wants to bury their child, and surely they don't want to be responsible for the death of their child. While there are accidents that do happen which result in losses of children, lets do all that we can to ensure our children will be safe from dying as a result of these two particular types of accidents.

Sources:

Kids and Cars

Chicago Sun-Times: Metro & Tri-State