Hyperthermia Happens… When Children are Left in Hot

Hyperthermia Happens 1

Running head: HYPERTHERMIA HAPPENS

Hyperthermia Happens… When Children are Left in Hot Vehicles

Scott A. Johnson Sr.

Irving Fire Department, Irving, Texas


Certification Statement

I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where language of others

is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given where I have

used the language, ideas, expressions, or writings of another.

Signed:_____________________________________


Abstract

As of October 3, 2010, 49 children in the United States have lost their lives due to

hyperthermia after being inadvertently left unattended in an enclosed vehicle. In the last

five years, 35 children have died from the same cause in the State of Texas. The problem

is the City of Irving, Texas does not have a program in place to educate its citizens on the

dangers of leaving a child alone in an enclosed vehicle or to educate them on the best

practices to prevent these tragedies. The purpose of this research was to gain an

understanding of the heat hazard experienced by a child inside an enclosed vehicle,

evaluate mitigation possibilities for preventing these tragedies, and make a

recommendation on the most effective method of reducing this risk to children. An

evaluative research method was used to explore the dangers to children; identify causes;

evaluate products, best practices, and programs designed to mitigate the problem; and

make a recommendation on the most effective strategy to reduce the hazard. A literature

review, thermodynamic study, parental questionnaire, and a focus group were used to

understand the problem and possible solutions. It was found that 14% of parents admitted

they had forgotten their child and left them unattended in an enclosed vehicle where

temperatures increase 39oF above the ambient temperature in 60 minutes. A focus group

rejected most of the products available to mitigate this hazard in favor of using a stuffed

animal in the front seat as a reminder that their child was in the car. A public education

program should be developed based around a teddy bear dressed in firefighting bunker

gear with the safety message “I can take the heat!” printed on the back of the coat.

Research into engineering mandates or legislative enforcement should also be conducted.


Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 7

Background and Significance .......................................................................................... 8

Children Left Unattended in Vehicles ............................................................................ 8

The Introduction of Airbags ............................................................................................ 9

Irving Fire Department ................................................................................................. 10

Reducing the Risk ......................................................................................................... 10

Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 11

Research Question 1: Why is it dangerous to leave children in enclosed vehicles?..... 11

How hot does it get? ................................................................................................. 11

How does the body handle heat? .............................................................................. 12

How does the body handle extreme heat? ................................................................. 13

Why do children under four years old have a greater risk? ...................................... 13

What should you know about children in an enclosed vehicle? ............................... 14

What is the law in Texas? ......................................................................................... 15

Research Question 2: What causes have been identified that lead to children being left in enclosed vehicles?..................................................................................................... 15

What changed to make this more common? ............................................................. 16

What kind of person forgets their kids? .................................................................... 17

How can someone just forget their kids? .................................................................. 17

Research Question 3: What products are available to prevent children from being left in enclosed vehicles?..................................................................................................... 19

Currently available in the market .................................................................................. 19

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ ............................................................................. 19

ChildMinder® Smart Clip System ............................................................................ 20

ChildMinder® Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System .................................................... 20

Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System..................................................... 21

Not currently available in the market............................................................................ 22

Baby Safety Line....................................................................................................... 22

Child Presence Sensor............................................................................................... 22

HALO Baby Seat Safety System .............................................................................. 23

SafeBABI .................................................................................................................. 23


Volov’s Personal Car Communicator ....................................................................... 24

What is keeping products from making it to the market? ............................................. 25

Research Question 4: What best practices are currently available to prevent children from being inadvertently left in hot vehicles? .............................................................. 25

Research Question 5: What programs are currently available to educate the public on the danger of leaving children in hot vehicles? ............................................................ 27

Kids and Cars ............................................................................................................ 27

Zero Seconds ............................................................................................................. 28

See and Save ............................................................................................................. 28

Don’t Forget the Baby .............................................................................................. 28

Procedures ....................................................................................................................... 29

Purpose of the Research ................................................................................................ 29

Procedures for the Research.......................................................................................... 30

Irving Fire Department Child Locked in Vehicle Study ............................................... 30

Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Rise Over 60 Minutes ................................................. 31

Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire .......................................................................... 32

Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group............................................................................ 33

Limitations .................................................................................................................... 34

Results .............................................................................................................................. 35

The Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire ................................................................... 35

Research Question 1: Why is it dangerous to leave children in enclosed vehicles?..... 36

Research Question 2: What causes have been identified that lead to children being left in hot vehicles? ............................................................................................................. 37

Research Question 3: What products are available to prevent children from being left in enclosed vehicles?..................................................................................................... 38

Research Question 4: What best practices are currently available to prevent children from being inadvertently left in hot vehicles? .............................................................. 39

Research Question 5: What programs are currently available to educate the public on the danger of leaving children in hot vehicles? ............................................................ 40

Research Question 6: What is the most effective product or best practice to reduce the risk of children being inadvertently left in hot vehicles? .............................................. 40

The Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ ...................................................................... 41

The ChildMinder® Smart Clip System .................................................................... 42

The ChildMinder® Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System ............................................. 43

The Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System ............................................. 43

The Teddy Bear......................................................................................................... 44


The Most Effective Product or Best Practice ............................................................ 45

Discussion / Implications ................................................................................................ 45

IFD Child Locked in Vehicles Calls ............................................................................. 45

Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Rise over 60 Minutes .................................................. 46

How Could Someone Forget Their Child? ................................................................... 47

What’s Available to Help You Remember Your Child? .............................................. 48

Why Aren’t Products on the Shelves? .......................................................................... 49

What was the most effective product? .......................................................................... 51

Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 51

References ........................................................................................................................ 54

Appendices ....................................................................................................................... 57

Appendix A – IFD Child Locked In Vehicle Calls From 10/01/06 thru 10/01/10 ....... 58

Appendix B – Don’t Forget the Baby! .......................................................................... 65

Don’t Forget the Baby! window cling. ..................................................................... 65

Don’t Forget the Baby! rear view mirror hanger. ..................................................... 66

Appendix C – Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Study ................................................... 67

Appendix D – Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire .................................................. 74

Appendix E – Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group Product Catalog ......................... 84

Appendix F – Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group Results ........................................ 96

Participant #1 ............................................................................................................. 96

Participant #2 ............................................................................................................. 97

Participant #3 ............................................................................................................. 98

Participant #4 ............................................................................................................. 99

Participant #5 ........................................................................................................... 100

Participant #6 ........................................................................................................... 101

Participant #7 ........................................................................................................... 102

Participant #8 ........................................................................................................... 103


Introduction

March 8, 2010 started out just like any other day for the family of 18 month old

Payton McKinnon. Payton’s father, Reginald, picked her up from daycare at 8:00 am to

take her to a doctor’s appointment. The appointment ran late and Payton’s father didn’t

get back to work that morning until 11:00 am. After finding a parking space, he

accidentally left his daughter, securely strapped in her car seat, inside of his Ford

Explorer. When he left work at 3:30 pm, he discovered Payton’s lifeless body right where

he had inadvertently left her 4 ½ hours earlier. Payton McKinnon became the first child

to die of hyperthermia in an enclosed vehicle in 2010. The Fort Myers, Florida sky was

sunny that day but the outside temperature had only reached 71 degrees (Ubinas, 2010).

As of October 3rd, the annual 2010 death toll from children being left in hot vehicles

stands at 49 (Null, 2010). With almost three months remaining in the year, that new

benchmark already makes this the deadliest year for children dying from hyperthermia in

enclosed vehicles since records have been kept.

In the last five years, 35 children have died of hyperthermia caused by being left in

an enclosed vehicle in the State of Texas (Null, 2010). The problem is the City of Irving

does not currently have a program in place to educate its citizens on the danger of leaving

children in hot vehicles or to educate them on best practices and products that would

prevent children from being inadvertently left inside of hot vehicles.

The purpose of this research is to identify products and best practices that are useful

in reducing the incidents of children being inadvertently left in vehicles. After identifying

and evaluating these products and best practices, this applied research project seeks to

make a recommendation on the most effective method of reducing the risk of children


being left in hot vehicles in the City of Irving. To accomplish this goal, the following

research questions will be addressed:

1. Why is it dangerous to leave children in enclosed vehicles?

2. What causes have been identified that lead to children being left in hot vehicles?

3. What products are available to prevent children from being left in enclosed

vehicles?

4. What best practices are currently available to prevent children from being

inadvertently left in hot vehicles?

5. What programs are currently available to educate the public on the danger of

leaving children in hot vehicles?

6. What is the most effective product or best practice to reduce the risk of children

being inadvertently left in hot vehicles?

This applied research project will use an evaluative research method to assess the

danger and the most prevalent causes of children being left in hot vehicles. It will also

examine products and best practices that are currently available to reduce the risk of

children being left in hot vehicles by their caregivers and make recommendations on the

most effective methods of reducing this risk to children in the City of Irving.

Background and Significance

Children Left Unattended in Vehicles

At times, children are left unattended in vehicles while caregivers run into a store

for milk or bread. Taken to an extreme, children are sometimes left in vehicles for

extended periods of time without adult supervision. On October 31, 2010, a Washington

County, Pennsylvania couple left their three children unattended in the family minivan


while they were gambling inside the Rivers Casino (Children left in car parked in casino

lot, 2010). This type of behavior is often considered negligent and legislation exists in 15

states, and has been proposed in 15 additional states, making this type of behavior illegal

and punishable by fine and/or imprisonment (Null, 2009). These types of actions are

willful on the part of the parents or caregivers and will likely only be resolved through

the use of education and legislative enforcement.

The Introduction of Airbags

Prior to the middle 1990’s, the incidence of children being inadvertently left in a

hot vehicle was relatively unheard of. However, in the early 1990’s, front impact airbags

gained increased popularity in new cars. While the government mandated the inclusion of

driver and passenger airbags for frontal impact protection by 1999, most new vehicles

included them as standard safety features by 1995 (Insurance Institute for Highway

Safety, 2010).

Between 1990 and 2008, this new safety innovation caused 290 fatalities. More

than 90% of the passenger fatalities were children not wearing a seat belt or infants in

rear facing car seats (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2010). This new front seat

hazard soon caused all children to be moved to the back seat of passenger vehicles.

This move from the front seat of the vehicle to the back seat of the vehicle made it

possible for caregivers to inadvertently forget the children were even there. Once the

children were out of sight, it became possible for them to be out of mind. Most parents

find this to be unconscionable and would state that they don’t understand how anyone

could forget their children. The reality is, since 1998, an average of 37 children per year


die of hyperthermia because they were forgotten and left in an enclosed vehicle (Null,

2010).

Irving Fire Department

The City of Irving, Texas is an inner-ring suburban city that is situated between

Dallas, Texas on the east and D/FW Airport on the west. The Irving Fire Department

operates out of 11 fire stations with 11 paramedic engine companies, 4 paramedic aerial

ladder trucks, and 8 paramedic Mobile Intensive Care Units (Irving Fire Department,

2009). According to the Irving Fire Department 2008-2009 Annual Report, the

department serves a population of 215,893 in an area of 67.6 square miles and responded

to 14,969 Fire/Rescue calls and 13,629 EMS calls.

Of these 28,598 calls, 35 were to rescue children who were locked inside of a

vehicle. This was the lowest number of responses of this nature in a four year study. The

highest number of these responses, 58, occurred in fiscal year 2006-2007, followed by 48

in fiscal year 2009-2010, and 43 in fiscal year 2007-2008. The four year average of

responses to children locked inside of a vehicle by the Irving Fire Department was 46

children per year (see Appendix A). Fortunately, none of these incidents resulted in a

child fatality or in any of the children requiring emergency transport to a medical facility.

However, across the country, 49 children have died after being inadvertently left

unattended in hot vehicles so far this year and 35 have died in the State of Texas alone in

the last five years (Null, 2010).

Reducing the Risk

The risk of forgetting a child in an enclosed vehicle knows no socio-economic or

geographical boundaries. This risk transverses all segments of society and spans the


geographic spectrum from coast to coast. This applied research project will focus on

reducing this risk at the local level through prevention and mitigation which is the first

strategic goal of the United States Fire Administration (United States Fire

Administration, 2010). It will specifically focus on the third step in the Community Risk-

Reduction Model which is developing intervention strategies (United States Department

of Homeland Security, 2009). Reducing the risk of children being inadvertently left

unattended in an enclosed vehicle by their caregivers will likely require intervention

strategies in the areas of education, engineering, and economic incentives.

Literature Review

Research Question 1: Why is it dangerous to leave children in enclosed vehicles?

How hot does it get?

In a 2002 observational study, the temperature rise in a dark blue 2000 Honda

Accord with light grey interior and non-tinted windows was measured on 16 different

cloud free days between May 16th and August 8th. The outside temperature on these days

ranged from 72oF to 96oF. The results of this study indicated that regardless of the

ambient temperature, the rate of temperature rise inside of the enclosed vehicle was

virtually the same when results were charted on a graph. The maximum temperature rise

occurred at 60 minutes and averaged a 41oF increase from the starting ambient

temperature. Even on the coolest day studied, 72oF, the internal temperatures reached

117oF at the end of a 60 minute time period. It was also noted that 80% of the

temperature rise occurred in the first 30 minutes (McLaren, Null, & Quinn, 2005).

A previous experiment in 1995 studied the temperature rise in two separate vehicles

on a 93oF day with a partly cloudy sky. The first vehicle was a dark blue sedan and the


second vehicle was a light grey minivan. Within 20 minutes, the temperatures in both

vehicles exceeded 125oF and stabilized in 40 minutes at 140oF in the dark sedan and

138oF in the light grey minivan (Gibbs, Lawrence, & Kohn, 1995).

In a similar 1980 study, researchers found at an ambient temperature of 98oF, 75%

of the temperature rise in an enclosed vehicle occurred within 5 minutes. This study also

found that the maximum temperature rise occurred in a mere 15 minutes and reached

temperatures between 124oF and 153oF (King, Negus, & Vance, 1981).

All three of these studies, King et al (1981), Gibbs et al (1995), and McLaren et al

(2005), examined the effects of the internal temperature rise with the vehicles windows

partially opened, in some instances the windows were opened as much as eight inches.

All of the studies found that opening the windows had a minimal effect on the rate of

temperature rise and that the maximum temperature attained inside of the opened vehicle

was virtually the same as the completely enclosed vehicle. It was not until the windows

were opened more than half way that some effect was noted on the rate of temperature

rise or the maximum temperature attained.

When answering the question of how hot it gets inside of an enclosed vehicle,

according to these studies, an enclosed vehicle will increase in temperature

approximately 40oF to 45oF above the starting ambient temperature.

How does the body handle heat?

The body normally uses evaporative cooling through the process of sweating. When

the body’s temperature control system is overloaded, the effects of heat related illnesses

begin to be felt (Centers for Disease Control, 2006). Some of the minor heat related

illnesses that may be experienced include: heat rash, heat cramps, heat edema, heat


tetany, heat syncope, and heat exhaustion. These heat illnesses are typically temporal in

nature and will generally resolve quickly with rehydration and removal of the victim

from the heated environment into an air conditioned environment (Healthwise, 2008).

However, in instances of extreme heating, the evaporative process cannot keep up with

the increase in body temperature.

How does the body handle extreme heat?

When the body is exposed to extreme heating conditions and is unable to regulate

its own temperature, the body experiences a heat stroke. A heat stroke is a very serious

medical condition that often causes the core body temperature to rise above 105oF and

requires emergency action. Even with emergency action being taken, once the body

temperature has risen to the level of a heat stroke, serious long-term medical

repercussions may be experienced up to and including death (Healthwise, 2008).

According to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office, for a death to be

considered as being caused by a heat related illness, the victim must meet as least one of

three criteria: (a) the core body temperature is ≥ 105oF (≥ 40.6oC) at the time of or

immediately following death; (b) there is substantial environmental or circumstantial

evidence of heat as a contributor to death; or (c) the decedent is found in a decomposed

condition without evidence of other cause of death, and the decedent was last seen alive

during the heat-wave period (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997).

Why do children under four years old have a greater risk?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006) infants and

children up to four years of age are included in the highest risk group for heat related

illnesses.


The greater risk in children under four years of age stems from several differences

these little ones have from their older counterparts and adults. The primary physiological

differences include a greater surface area to mass ratio, increased metabolic rate, their

lack of ability to increase their cardiac output, their greater ability to alter their peripheral

circulation, lower blood volume and lower amount of sweat per gland. From a

developmental standpoint, their increased risk stems from their inability to independently

change their environment by moving to a cooler climate, rolling down a window, or

adjusting the thermostat on an air conditioner (Grubenhoff, Ford, & Roosevelt, 2007).

What should you know about children in an enclosed vehicle?

According to the Director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at

Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Gary Smith:

The inside of a car on a hot day heats up incredibly high and quickly. In a

short time, temperatures of 120 to 140 degrees can occur. The heat

overwhelms a child’s ability to regulate his core temperature and the child

quickly loses consciousness. When a kid is in a hot car, he is gaining heat

very quickly and there is no way to get that heat out of their bodies. The

mechanisms for compensating are overwhelmed and their core temperature

rises. The child becomes unconscious and brain damage occurs. A kid left

for a half hour can become unconscious and unresponsive (Goldman, 2010,

p. 1).

In specifically addressing the growing problem of leaving children in enclosed

vehicles, officials at the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services (2009,

p.2) advise all members of the public to:


Remember to look before you leave in order to avoid leaving a child in a

car. Remember to NEVER leave a child in a closed, parked car. In Texas,

leaving a child in a car is not only dangerous, it's also illegal. According to

Texas law, anyone who leaves a child younger than the age of seven

unsupervised in a motor vehicle faces a Class C misdemeanor. If the child is

hurt, the person could be charged with child endangerment, a felony.

DCHHS officials ask that if you see a child left unattended in a parked car,

to call 9-1-1 immediately and stay with the car until help arrives.

"It only takes a few minutes for the temperature inside a parked, closed

vehicle to reach dangerous levels, resulting in heat exhaustion or heat

stroke," said Dr. Chung. "We are calling on every adult to help safeguard

the welfare of our children by never leaving a child in a closed, parked car.

We ask that anyone who sees a child left in a closed, parked car to call 911

immediately. Remember that your actions could save a child's life."

What is the law in Texas?

The Texas Penal Code, Section 22.10, specifies that leaving a child in a vehicle is a

Class C misdemeanor if a person intentionally or knowingly leaves a child under seven

years of age in a motor vehicle for longer than five minutes without someone 14 years of

age or older in the vehicle with them (State of Texas, 1994).

Research Question 2: What causes have been identified that lead to children being left in

enclosed vehicles?


What changed to make this more common?

In the mid 1990’s passenger side airbags became standard equipment on most

passenger vehicles. These new safety devices were soon found to be too powerful for

children sitting in the front seat and resulted in several child fatalities. To compensate for

this new front seat hazard, it was recommended that children in booster seats be moved to

the back seat and that infant seats face the rear of the vehicle (Edwards, 2010). To

address this new seating recommendation, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

(2010, ¶ 8) states the following:

How and where infants and children are restrained in a vehicle can reduce

the likelihood of an airbag-related injury. Infants, particularly those in rear-

facing safety seats, should never sit in the front because this puts an infant's

head too close to the frontal airbag. Rear seats are always safest for infants

and children. Sixteen states have provisions requiring children of various

ages to be seated in the rear. Even if your state's law does not require

children to sit in the rear, children 12 and younger should always sit

restrained in rear seats.

This new seating standard has removed infants and children from the caregivers

immediate field of view, especially in the case of infants placed in rear facing safety

seats. If the child goes to sleep, or does not make a sound or movement that recaptures

the attention of the adult caring for them, it is now possible to completely forget that the

child is even in the car.


What kind of person forgets their kids?

In his Pulitzer Prize winning expose, Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the

Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?, Gene Weingarten (2009, P.2)

states:

The wealthy do, it turns out. And the poor, and the middle class. Parents of

all ages and ethnicities do it. Mothers are just as likely to do it as fathers. It

happens to the chronically absent-minded and to the fanatically organized,

to the college educated and to the marginally literate. In the last 10 years, it

has happened to a dentist. A postal clerk. A social worker. A police officer.

An accountant. A soldier. A paralegal. An electrician. A protestant

clergyman. A rabbinical student. A nurse. A construction worker. An

assistant principal. It happened to a mental health counselor, a college

professor and a pizza chef. It happened to a pediatrician. It happened to a

rocket scientist.

From a social science perspective, the incidence of inadvertently leaving

ones children enclosed in a vehicle appears to cross all cultural and socio-

economic boundaries.

How can someone just forget their kids?

In Weingarten’s (2009, p. 5) Washington Post article, David Diamond, the Director

of the University of South Florida Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program

describes memory as a machine that isn’t flawless. He expands on that statement by

explaining that our conscious thoughts get prioritized by the amount of importance we

place on them. However, on a cellular level our memory does not receive that same


prioritization. From his perspective, “If you are capable of forgetting your cell phone, you

are capable of forgetting your child.” Diamond goes on to clarify:

The human brain, he says, is a magnificent but jury rigged device in which

newer and more sophisticated structures sit atop a junk heap of prototype

brains still used by lower species. At the top of the device are the smartest

and most nimble parts: the prefrontal cortex, which thinks and analyzes, and

the hippocampus, which makes and holds onto our immediate memories. At

the bottom is the basal ganglia, nearly identical to the brains of lizards,

controlling voluntary but barely conscious actions.

Diamond says that in situations involving familiar, routine motor skills, the

human animal presses the basal ganglia into service as a sort of auxiliary

autopilot. When our prefrontal cortex and our hippocampus are planning our

day on the way to work, the ignorant but efficient basal ganglia is operating

the car; that’s why you’ll sometimes find yourself having driven from point

A to point B without a clear recollection of the route you took, the turns you

made, or the scenery you saw.

Through stress experiments with rats, Diamond has been able to record the

electrochemical changes in the rats brains caused by stressful stimulus and discovered

that stress, either sudden or chronic, can weaken the normal functioning of the prefrontal

cortex and the hippocampus. Diamond equates these electrochemical changes to the cases

he’s followed involving children being inadvertently forgotten inside of enclosed vehicles

(Weingarten, 2009). When it comes to judging who might be at risk for forgetting their

child and leaving them in the car, Diamond states:


The quality of prior parental care seems to be irrelevant. The important

factors that keep showing up involve a combination of stress, emotion, lack

of sleep and change in routine, where the basal ganglia is trying to do what

it is supposed to do, and the conscious mind is too weakened to resist. What

happens is that the memory circuits in a vulnerable hippocampus literally

get overwritten, like with a computer program. Unless the memory circuit is

rebooted – such as if the child cries, or you know, if the wife mentions that

the child is in the back – it can entirely disappear” (Weingarten, 2009, p. 5).

When people are deprived of sleep, experience stress, or are simply distracted by

the problems currently topping their agenda, their basal ganglia takes over and drives

their routine. They are able to drive to work, navigate the parking lot, enter their work

place, power up their computer, and start their work day. However, if remembering the

baby is in the car is not part of the routine, it can get dropped from the brains to do list

and forgotten entirely (Edwards, 2010).

Research Question 3: What products are available to prevent children from being left in

enclosed vehicles?

Currently available in the market

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™

The Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ is a simple battery operated device that

automatically turns on when the child’s weight is detected in the car seat. Approximately

four seconds after the vehicle comes to a stop, a lullaby will play. This four second delay

has been calculated as the amount of time that it takes for you to turn off your car,

remove the keys from the ignition, and start to open the door. The sound of the music will


remind you that the child is in the car seat. Also designed into this car seat monitor is an

alarm that will beep if the vehicle is in motion and the child gets out of the car seat. This

device currently sells on the Cars-N-Kids website for $29.95 (Cars-N-Kids, 2009).

ChildMinder® Smart Clip System

The ChildMinder® Smart Clip System is a battery operated digital wireless smart

clip that replaces the original equipment chest clip on the child safety seat and is paired

with a digital wireless key ring unit. When the child is placed in the safety seat and the

clip is fastened, the clip unit will begin to beep and a red LED will begin to flash.

Pressing the center button on the key ring unit will silence the beeping in the smart clip

unit and green LEDs on the smart clip and the key ring unit will begin to flash indicating

that the system is activated. To deactivate the system, simply separate the two parts of the

smart clip. The key ring unit will beep three times and the system is deactivated. If the

system is not deactivated and the key ring unit is moved more than 10 meters from the

activated smart clip, the key ring unit will begin to alarm. The key ring unit will

continually alarm until it returns to within 10 meters of the smart clip or the smart clip

unit is deactivated.

The ChildMinder® Smart Clip System can accommodate up to three smart clips

with a single key ring unit. This device currently sells on the Baby Alert International

website starting at $69.95 for the single clip system and ranges up to $189.95 for the

three system package (Baby Alert International, 2010).

ChildMinder® Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System

The ChildMinder® Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System is a battery operated digital

wireless smart pad that activates when it senses the weight of the child and is paired with


a digital wireless key ring unit. When the child is placed in the safety seat, the smart pad

will begin to beep and a red LED will begin to flash. Pressing the center button on the

key ring unit will silence the beeping in the smart pad and green LEDs on the smart pad

and the key ring unit will begin to flash indicating that the system is activated. To

deactivate the system, simply remove the child from the safety seat. The smart pad and

the key ring unit will beep four to five times and the system is deactivated. If the system

is not deactivated and the key ring unit is moved more than 15 feet from the activated

pad, the key ring unit will begin to alarm. The key ring unit will continually alarm until it

returns to within 15 feet of the smart pad or the smart pad unit is deactivated.

The ChildMinder® Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System can accommodate up to three

smart pads with a single key ring unit. This device currently sells on the Baby Alert

International website starting at $69.95 for the single pad system and ranges up to

$189.95 for the three system package (Baby Alert International, 2010).

Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System

The Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System consists of a large Baby Bee

Safe tag with a clip that attaches to the child safety seat when the seat is unoccupied.

When the child is placed in the car, the tag is removed from the child safety seat and

attached to the driver’s key ring. The Baby Bee Safe™ tag is designed to be too large to

place in a pocket or a purse without noticing it. This serves as a visual and a tactile

reminder that the child is inside of the vehicle. After removing the child from the car, the

Baby Bee Safe™ tag is reattached to the child safety seat. The Baby Bee Safe™ tag

currently sells on their website for $4.99 and can be customized with a safety message or

an organizations logo (Baby Bee Safe, 2006).


Not currently available in the market

Baby Safety Line

The Baby Safety Line is exactly what the name implies. It consists of a length of

coiled line with clips at each end and two self-adhesive hooks. One of the hooks is

attached to the child safety seat and the other hook is attached to a convenient location on

the dash. One end of the Baby Safety Line is clipped to the child safety seat and the other

end is clipped to the hook on the dash. After placing the child in the child safety seat,

remove the clip that is attached to the dash and attach it to the ignition key. Upon

reaching the destination, remove the Baby Safety Line from the ignition key and clip it to

the hook on the dash. The act of removing the Baby Safety Line from the ignition key is

intended to remind the driver that the baby is in the vehicle. This item appears to be

available for sale online. However, the Baby Safety Line does not have a price listed on

their web site and attempts to purchase this product went unanswered. (Kidz Innovations,

2007).

Child Presence Sensor

The Child Presence Sensor, developed by the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration’s (NASA) Langley Research Center, uses precision materials and

electronics to sense when a child has been left in a child safety seat after the driver has

left the vehicle. The child sensor switch activates when the child is placed in the safety

seat and deactivates when the child is removed from the seat. The alarm unit is designed

to hang on the driver’s key ring. If the driver moves too far from the vehicle with a child

still in the seat the drivers alarm will sound 10 warning beeps. If the driver does not

return to the vehicle within one minute the alarm will sound continuously and cannot be


reset without returning to the child safety seat. NASA’s Technology Commercialization

Program Manager for the Child Presence Sensor, Brian Beaton, estimates that the Child

Presence Sensor could be marketed by a NASA licensed commercial partner for $20 to

$30 with the cost to add a second seat sensor to the system being about half of that

amount. This product has been available since February 2002 and no commercial partners

have been found to market the Child Presence Sensor (National Aeronautics and Space

Administration, 2002).

HALO Baby Seat Safety System

The HALO Baby Seat Safety System consists of a seat pad and a key fob. The seat

pad fits car seats from infant to toddler and once installed, the system is activated anytime

a child is placed in the safety seat. If the driver exits the vehicle without the child, or if

the vehicle becomes too hot or too cold, the key fob will sound an alarm. If the child is

not quickly removed from the car seat, the seat pad will also sound a synthesized voice

alarm stating “Baby in Danger” to alert anyone in the immediate area of the vehicle that

the child is in a dangerous situation. The estimated price of the HALO Baby Seat Safety

System is $149.00 each, additional key fobs are estimated to be $24.95 each, and

additional seat pads are estimated to be $53.00. This product is not yet available in the

market but pre-order reservations are being taken to estimate future demand levels and

manufacturing needs (Sisters of Invention, 2007).

SafeBABI

The SafeBABI (Safe Baby Alert Broadcast Interface) consists of a switch attached

to the seat of the child safety seat, a Texas Instruments CC1110 wireless interface, and an

eZ430 Chronos wristwatch. When the child is placed in the safety seat, the switch closes


and a wireless signal is sent to the watch indicating that the child safety seat is occupied.

If the person wearing the watch is no longer in range of the wireless transmitter attached

to the child safety seat, the watch references the last message sent from the child safety

seat and sounds an alarm if the last message received indicates that the seat was occupied.

This product was developed by three Texas Instruments college interns but Texas

Instruments has no plans to develop this product for commercial production. A complete

list of parts, instructions on assembling the system, and all of the code required to

program the system is available on the Texas Instruments wiki page located at

http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/SafeBABI . The total cost of the parts is

approximately $100.00 (Ogilvie, Liska, & Sherman, 2010).

Volov’s Personal Car Communicator

Late model Volvo’s now come equipped with a Personal Car Communicator that

incorporates a heartbeat sensor into the design. At a range of 60 to 100 meters, pressing

the information button can give you a security status report. A flashing red light means

that the heartbeat sensor has been activated and that someone is in the car. Volvo is

currently marketing this sensor as a security feature to detect an intruder hiding in the

vehicle (The Volvo Owners Club, 2006). Ed Whitfield, Fleet Manager for Park Place

Volvo in Dallas, Texas explained that the heart beat sensor is actually one of the

components required to allow the keyless push button start to function. Several Volvo

models check for the presence of the ignition key inside of the vehicle, as well as, a live

person before it will activate the push button start. When asked about using the heartbeat

sensor as a child safety device, Mr. Whitfield pointed out that the information button on

the key needs to be pushed before a report is sent to the key. He stated, “If you can

http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/SafeBABI�


remember to push the button, you don’t need the heartbeat sensor to tell you if your child

has been left in the car.” He also stated that he does not know of any plans to use the

heartbeat sensor for any additional purposes in the future (E. Whitfield, personal

communication, September 14, 2010).

What is keeping products from making it to the market?

Jan Null, a leading researcher in the area of child hot vehicle fatalities says, “the

issue is not the technology, the issue is getting it to market.” Requiring auto makers to

include this technology in new models would translate into tens of millions of dollars of

added annual costs. Wade Newton, an auto industry spokesman denies that cost is the

driving factor and claims that no one has come up with a system that is immune to false

alarms (Devices exist to keep, 2007).

Janette Fennell had high hopes for the Child Presence Sensor developed by NASA.

She felt that the dramatic narrative of a child’s death and the backing of the NASA name

would create strong public acceptance. However, the device still hasn’t hit the market.

One of the biggest obstacles facing commercial partners was that of liability. If a

manufacturer marketed the device, it failed, and a child died, the financial repercussions

could be staggering. Another insurmountable hurdle has been marketing studies that

show the products just won’t sell well. Simply put, people think this could never happen

to them (Weingarten, 2009).

Research Question 4: What best practices are currently available to prevent children

from being inadvertently left in hot vehicles?


Several best practices are available to help parents and caregivers remember to look

in the back seat and avoid the heartbreak of inadvertently leaving a child unattended in an

enclosed vehicle.

Some of the best practices advocated by Jan Null (2010) are:

1. Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Even for a minute.

2. If you see a child unattended in a hot vehicle, call 911.

3. Be sure that all occupants leave the vehicle when unloading. Don’t overlook

sleeping babies.

4. Always lock your car and ensure that children do not have access to keys or

remote entry devices. If a child is missing, check the car first, including the

trunk. Teach your children that vehicles are never to be used as play areas.

5. Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat and when the child is placed in the seat

place the animal in the front seat with the driver.

6. Place your purse or briefcase in the backseat as a reminder that you have a

child in the car.

7. Make “look before you leave” a routine whenever you get out of the car.

8. Have a plan that your childcare provider will call you if your child does not

show up for school.

Some of the best practices advocated by Tamala Edwards (2010) are:

1. Always put something that you know that you’ll need, like your purse,

wallet, or cell phone, on the floor of the backseat near your child.


2. Keep a large teddy bear in the car seat when your child is not in it. When

your child is in his seat, put the bear in the front seat as a reminder of what’s

in the back.

3. Make arrangements with your child care provider that if your child is half an

hour late without a pre-scheduled absence that they will call you.

Research Question 5: What programs are currently available to educate the public on the

danger of leaving children in hot vehicles?

Kids and Cars

Janette Fennell and her child vehicle safety organization, Kids and Cars, have

produced educational materials in the form of brochures, vehicle window clings, posters,

vehicle air fresheners, magnets, vehicle windshield sun shades, balloons, children’s

books, as well as television and radio public service announcements. Most of the

materials offered are produced in multiple languages to include English, Spanish,

Chinese, and Vietnamese. However, the majority of these educational materials have the

generic child vehicle safety message: NEVER leave children alone in or around cars. The

Kids and Cars Look Before You Lock card, which is available in large 8.5” x 5.5” and

small 4.5” x 5.5” sizes, reminds parents to check the back seat for their new baby. The

card also provides a safety check list with ideas for reminding parents that the child is in

the vehicle but does not mention any of the hazards associated with children in vehicles

to include hyperthermia. Educational materials specific to vehicle power window

entrapment, entrapment inside of the trunk of a vehicle, and children being run over in

the driveway are available. Educational material specific to hyperthermia from children

being left unattended in a vehicle was not found (Kids and Cars, 2003).


Zero Seconds

Harrison’s Hope has developed the Zero Seconds public education program to teach

children and adults about child vehicle safety. This program takes a generic child vehicle

safety approach and seeks to educate the public in all areas of vehicle safety. The premise

of the Zero Seconds program is: Zero Seconds – That’s how long we should leave a child

in or around a car. The Zero Seconds program includes DVD video teaching about child

vehicle safety, printed information cards, magnets, window clings, bumper stickers,

posters, and key chains. Educational material specific to hyperthermia from children

being left unattended in a vehicle was not found (Harrison's Hope, 2007).

See and Save

The Texas Department of Family Protective Services has developed the See and

Save public education program to teach parents and children about safety in water and

hot cars. The Hot Car program provides talking points on the number of fatalities

experienced each year; heat related illnesses caused from being left in a hot car; defines

leaving a child unattended in a car as neglectful supervision; details Texas Penal Code,

Title 5, Chapter 22, Section 10, LEAVING A CHILD IN A VEHICLE; how long it takes

for a car to get hot; and offers tips on How To Prevent Tragedy. The See and Save

program also offers PDF files for free download that include the See and Save Hot Car

Safety Tips, the See and Save poster, and See and Save bookmarks (Texas Department of

Family and Protective Services, 2010).

Don’t Forget the Baby

The Irving Fire Department, in cooperation with the Irving Police Department and

City of Irving Corporate Communications Department, has developed a Don’t Forget the


Baby! window cling and rear view mirror hanger (see Appendix B). These items were

printed and distributed to fire stations throughout the city in the summer of 2010. To date,

no information regarding the use these materials or the distribution of these materials to

the public has been distributed within the fire department.

Procedures

This research project was prompted by the seemingly endless anecdotal accounts of

children dying after being left unattended in hot vehicles. Multiple newspaper accounts,

television documentaries, and even significant story line elements added to prime time

television shows like the season four opening episode of ABC’s Private Practice, which

aired on September 23, 2010, have included the stories of children who were

inadvertently left unattended in a vehicle and died from hyperthermia.

Purpose of the Research

The purpose of this research was to determine if these anecdotal stories were based

in fact by answering the following research questions:

1. Why is it dangerous to leave children in enclosed vehicles?

2. What causes have been identified that lead to children being left in hot vehicles?

3. What products are available to prevent children from being left in enclosed

vehicles?

4. What best practices are currently available to prevent children from being

inadvertently left in hot vehicles?

5. What programs are currently available to educate the public on the danger of

leaving children in hot vehicles?


6. What is the most effective product or best practice to reduce the risk of children

being inadvertently left in hot vehicles?

Procedures for the Research

The literature review for this Applied Research Project began at the National Fire

Academy’s Learning Resource Center in June of 2010. This research included a search of

Executive Fire Officer Program Applied Research Projects, trade publications, and

journal articles pertaining to the topics of: kids in hot cars, hyperthermia, children and

hyperthermia, children in vehicles, kids and cars, cars and kids, child vehicle safety, and

hot car public education.

Additional internet research was conducted, during multiple sessions, from June

2010 thru November 2010 using the Google and Yahoo search engines with search terms

such as: kids in hot cars, hyperthermia, children and hyperthermia, children in vehicles,

kids and cars, cars and kids, child vehicle safety, and hot car public education.

The primary sources of information cited by a majority of articles dealing with

children in hot vehicles are Janette Fennell, the founder of Kids and Cars, and Jan Null,

Certified Consulting Meteorologist for the Golden Gate Weather Service and Adjunct

Professor of Meteorology in the Geosciences Department of San Francisco State

University. As the two leading researchers in this field, their work has been widely

regarded as seminal and has been relied on heavily by all of the research found since

these two individuals began documenting cases of children dying of hyperthermia in hot

vehicles and keeping records of these incidents.

Irving Fire Department Child Locked in Vehicle Study


A four year study of the number of children locked in vehicles within the City of

Irving was conducted by preforming a query of the Irving Fire Department computer

aided dispatch (CAD) system. This query requested data from October 2006 through

October 2010.

The key piece of data requested was incidents with a response type of LOCK OUT.

Other information requested was the incident number, date, time, units responding,

incident location, census tract, and remarks. This query produced a report that included

incidents of people who were locked out of their houses, apartments, offices, and

vehicles. The query was then refined to only include incidents of people being locked out

of their vehicles. Once refined to vehicle lock outs only, all incidents that did not mention

a child locked inside of the vehicle in the remarks section were excluded. The remaining

incidents were placed in a spread sheet and a graph was developed to illustrate the

findings. This report, Irving Fire Department Child Locked in Vehicle Responses (see

Appendix A), was then cross referenced with the Irving Fire Department Electronic

Patient Care Reporting (ePCR) system to determine if any heat related illness were

suffered by any of the children that had been locked inside of the vehicles.

Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Rise Over 60 Minutes

A study was conducted to quantify the temperature rise in various vehicles during

the period July 1, 2010 through October 17, 2010.

This study was conducted on B shifts in the parking lot of Irving Fire Department,

Fire Station 11, located at 6200 Love dr. in Irving, Texas. The vehicles were parked in

the employee parking lot to simulate a parent arriving at work and inadvertently leaving a

child inside of the vehicle.


The vehicles used included: (a) a White 2006 Lexus GS 350 with Tan Interior and

Tinted Glass; (b) a Camouflage 2006 H3 Hummer with Tan Interior and Non-Tinted

Glass; (c) a Black 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche with Tan Interior and Tinted Glass; (d) a

Gold 2004 Hyundai Sante Fe with Tan Interior and non-Tinted Glass; and (e) a Gold

2008 Chevrolet Suburban with Black Interior and Tinted Glass.

The start time varied from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm and the temperature rise was

measured for 60 minutes in 10 minute intervals. The temperature was recorded using

digital thermometers measuring Fahrenheit to the tenth of a degree. All readings were

rounded to the nearest whole degree. Weather conditions were also recorded as Sunny,

Cloudy, or Rain.

All data was collected in a spread sheet and graphs were developed to illustrate

Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Rise Over 60 Minutes, Average Enclosed Vehicle

Temperature Rise Over 60 Minutes, Average Temperature Rise in Individual Vehicles,

and Average Temperature Rise by Weather Conditions. This report is entitled Enclosed

Vehicle Temperature Rise over 60 Minutes (see Appendix C).

Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire

An anonymous questionnaire was developed to determine the prevalence of

children being inadvertently left unattended in enclosed vehicles and to determine

parental awareness of Texas state law regarding leaving children unattended in a vehicle.

Distribution of the questionnaire was limited to parents of children participating in a

back to school safety fair conducted at Irving Mall on August 12, 2010. The participants

were asked to complete the questionnaire, and to maintain anonymity, immediately

deposit it into a slot in a closed box.


All data was collected in a spread sheet and graphs were developed to illustrate the

diversity of participants by gender; the diversity in the age of the participants responding,

the number of children in each responding household; the ages of the children in each

responding household; the diversity of single parent vs. dual parents in each responding

household; the number of participants that have inadvertently left their children in an

enclosed vehicle; the amount of time the children were inadvertently left in of an

enclosed vehicle; if the participant believed there was an existing law in the State of

Texas regulating children left unattended in a vehicle; of the participants that believed

there was a state law regulating children left unattended in a vehicle, how long could the

child remain unattended in the vehicle before there was a violation of the law. This report

is entitled Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire (see Appendix D).

Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group

A focus group was conducted to gather opinions from the parents of small children

on child safety products designed to prevent children from being inadvertently left

unattended in a vehicle. The stated purpose of the focus group was to: (a) evaluate the

pros and cons of the child safety products, (b) evaluate the price point of the product and

how that price point would affect the participants buying decision, (c) evaluate the

likelihood of the participant purchasing the product, and (d) gather the participants

overall evaluation of the products.

Eight focus group participants were recruited by the director of a local preschool

from a group of parents who had children four years old and under attending the school.

The group was given information to enhance their understanding of the dynamics

surrounding children being inadvertently left unattended in vehicles. They were also


given information on how a parent could forget that their child was in the car. The

information provided came from Weingarten’s (2009) Pulitzer Prize winning Washington

Post article Fatal Distraction.

Each member of the focus group was also asked to complete the Hypothermia

Happens Questionnaire (see Appendix D) prior to beginning the product demonstrations.

A product catalog (see Appendix E) was given to each participant to provide

information on various child safety products and a feedback page was provided for each

product to gather the opinion of each participant about each individual product. Each

product was then demonstrated for the group and the marketing material used by the

product manufacturers was presented. Only products currently available in the market

were evaluated.

After each demonstration, the participants were asked to write down their opinions

about that particular product. At the conclusion of the demonstrations, each participant

was provided with one of the products from the product catalog to take home and test for

a three week trial period. At the end of the three week trial period, each participant

evaluated the product they had been given based on their experience with that product

and returned all of their evaluations.

Limitations

Proprietary research on the part of automotive manufacturers and car seat

manufacturers was not available. News releases could be found stating that these

manufacturers were interested in reducing fatalities in hot cars but specific information

about their efforts was not available. Several email requests for information were sent and


several telephone contacts were attempted, however, none of these requests for

information were answered.

Results

The Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire

The Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire (see Appendix D) was completed by a

total of 231 participants. Of those who responded, 32% were male and 68% were female.

The ages of the participants ranged from < 18 years to 47 years with 81% the participants

being between the ages of 18 years and 32 years of age. 70% of the 399 children

represented by this study resided in homes that consisted of one or two children, 71%

resided with both parents in the home, and 72% were three years of age or less.

When asked the question, “Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended

in a vehicle?” 79% replied no, 14% replied yes, and 7% left the answer blank. In

interpreting these results, replying no would not have any negative connotations and

would not present a rational reason to leave the answer blank. On the other hand,

admitting that one had inadvertently left their child unattended in an enclosed vehicle has

serious negative connotations and may prompt the participant to leave the answer blank.

Another possibility for having a blank answer is that the participant inadvertently skipped

the question and the answer was unintentionally left blank. This question was presented

so that the participants were only required to either circle yes or circle no and was the

only question where an answer was left blank. Of those that indicated that they had

inadvertently left their children unattended in an enclosed vehicle, 81% indicated that the

children were left unattended for 14 minutes or less. The results of this question

confirmed 14% to 21% of participants had already inadvertently left their children


unattended in an enclosed vehicle. In terms of the number of children represented in this

study, a staggering 56 to 84 children had already been placed at risk of hyperthermia

from being inadvertently left unattended in an enclosed vehicle.

When asked the question, “Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your

child unattended in a vehicle?” 68% correctly indicated yes. However, of those that

indicated that it was against the law, when asked the follow up question, “How long can

the child remain unattended before there is a violation?” only 16% correctly answered

less than five minutes.

Research Question 1: Why is it dangerous to leave children in enclosed vehicles?

The Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Study (see Appendix C) revealed a temperature

increase range in enclosed vehicles of 18oF to 50oF above the ambient temperature in a

60 minute time period. The study was conducted on 25 separate days, in varying weather

conditions, with an average temperature rise of 39oF in a 60 minute time period.

Research also revealed, when the body is exposed to extreme heating conditions

and is unable to regulate its own temperature; the body experiences a heat stroke. A heat

stroke is a very serious medical condition that often causes the core body temperature to

rise above 105oF and requires emergency action. Even with emergency action being

taken, once the body temperature has risen to the level of a heat stroke, serious long-term

medical repercussions may be experienced up to and including death (Healthwise, 2008).

With an average temperature rise of 39oF in an enclosed vehicle, it is easy to see

that the temperature inside of an enclosed vehicle, even on a day with ambient

temperatures of 70oF, would reach 109oF. At these temperatures, a child’s body cannot

dissipate heat and quickly surpasses the 105oF marker indicative of a heat stroke.


Ambient temperatures in the 80oF to 90oF range can easily reach 130oF to 140oF inside of

an enclosed vehicle. Temperatures experienced during the study reached as high as 147oF

inside of an enclosed vehicle.

Research Question 2: What causes have been identified that lead to children being left in

hot vehicles?

In the mid 1990’s passenger side airbags became standard equipment on most

passenger vehicles. These new safety devices were soon found to be too powerful for

children sitting in the front seat and resulted in several child fatalities. To compensate for

this new front seat hazard, it was recommended that children in booster seats be moved to

the backseat and that infant seats face the rear of the vehicle (Edwards, 2010).

This new seating standard has removed infants and children from the caregiver’s

immediate field of view. Especially in the case of infants placed in rear facing safety

seats. If the child goes to sleep, or does not make a sound or movement that recaptures

the attention of the adult caring for them, it is now possible to completely forget that the

child is even in the car.

David Diamond, the Director of the University of South Florida Neuroscience

Collaborative Research Program explains that “memory is a machine, and it is not

flawless.” He expands on that statement by explaining that our conscious thoughts get

prioritized by the amount of importance we place on them. However, on a cellular level

our memory does not receive that same prioritization. From his perspective, “If you are

capable of forgetting your cell phone, you are capable of forgetting your child”

(Weingarten, 2009, p. 5).


When people are deprived of sleep, experience stress, or are simply distracted by

the problems currently topping their agenda, their basal ganglia takes over and drives

their routine. They are able to drive to work, navigate the parking lot, enter their work

place, power up their computer, and start their work day. However, if remembering the

baby is in the car is not part of the routine, it can get dropped from the brains to do list

and forgotten entirely (Edwards, 2010).

Research Question 3: What products are available to prevent children from being left in

enclosed vehicles?

Products currently available to the public include: (a) The Cars-N-Kids Car Seat

Monitor™ which is currently available on the Cars-N-Kids website for $29.95 (Cars-N-

Kids, 2009), (b) The ChildMinder® Smart Clip System which is currently available on

the Baby Alert International website starting at $69.95 for the single clip system and

ranges up to $189.95 for the three system package (Baby Alert International, 2010), (c)

The ChildMinder® Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System which is currently available on the

Baby Alert International website starting at $69.95 for the single pad system and ranges

up to $189.95 for the three system package (Baby Alert International, 2010), (d) The

Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System which is currently available on the Baby

Bee Safe website for $4.99 and can be customized with a safety message or an

organizations logo (Baby Bee Safe, 2006), (e) A teddy bear or other stuffed animal left in

a vacant safety seat and placed in the front seat with the driver when the child is

occupying the seat has also proven to be effective in reminding caregivers that the child

is present in the vehicle (Edwards, 2010).


Research Question 4: What best practices are currently available to prevent children

from being inadvertently left in hot vehicles?

Several best practices are available to help parents and caregivers remember to look

in the back seat and avoid the heartbreak of inadvertently leaving a child unattended in an

enclosed vehicle.

Some of the best practices advocated by Jan Null (2010) are:

1. Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Even for a minute.

2. If you see a child unattended in a hot vehicle, call 911.

3. Be sure that all occupants leave the vehicle when unloading. Don’t overlook

sleeping babies.

4. Always lock your car and ensure that children do not have access to keys or

remote entry devices. If a child is missing, check the car first, including the

trunk. Teach your children that vehicles are never to be used as play areas.

5. Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat and when the child is placed in the seat

place the animal in the front seat with the driver.

6. Place your purse or briefcase in the backseat as a reminder that you have a

child in the car.

7. Make “look before you leave” a routine whenever you get out of the car.

8. Have a plan that your childcare provider will call you if your child does not

show up for school.

Some of the best practices advocated by Tamala Edwards (2010) are:

1. Always put something that you know that you’ll need, like your purse,

wallet, or cell phone, on the floor of the backseat near your child.


2. Keep a large teddy bear in the car seat when your child is not in it. When

your child is in his seat, put the bear in the front seat as a reminder of what’s

in the back.

3. Make arrangements with your child care provider that if your child is half an

hour late without a pre-scheduled absence that they will call you.

Research Question 5: What programs are currently available to educate the public on the

danger of leaving children in hot vehicles?

Both Kids and Cars (2003) and Harrison’s Hope (2007) offer generic child vehicle

safety programs that provide education on the hazards of power windows, children

playing around vehicles, children playing in vehicles, accidental entrapment inside of a

vehicle or inside of the trunk of a vehicle, and other hazards associated with children

being left unattended inside of a vehicle.

The Texas Department of Family Protective Services offers the See and Save public

education program to teach parents and children about the hazards of leaving children

unattended in an enclosed vehicle. The program also offers See and Save Hot Car Safety

Tips to educate parents and children on the best practices for mitigating the possibility of

leaving a child unattended in an enclosed vehicle (Texas Department of Family and

Protective Services, 2010).

The Irving Fire Department has initiated the Don’t Forget the Baby! public

education program. Currently, only a window cling and an informational rearview mirror

hanger have been produced (see Appendix B).

Research Question 6: What is the most effective product or best practice to reduce the

risk of children being inadvertently left in hot vehicles?


The Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group (see Appendix F) was given information

from Weingarten’s (2009) Washington Post article Fatal Distraction and then were asked

to evaluate several products based on their effectiveness, marketing materials provided by

the manufacturers, and price.

The Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™

Six of the eight participants stated that they would be unlikely to purchase this

product. While most thought it was a simple product that would be easy to install, they

also thought it was priced too high. Participant one tested this product and stated, “Good

reminder, pleasant music, alarms let you know the child got out of their car seat” (see

Appendix F). They also stated that the price was a little high but that they would likely

buy this product at a store.

The most powerful objections to this product seemed to be the constant reminder

music that begins playing four to five seconds after the car comes to a stop. Some of the

responses to this product included:

1. “It would keep you aware of the kid in the car but you might want to throw

the music thing out the window after a while” (see Appendix F, Participant

3).

2. “It does what it is designed to do. I just don’t want to listen to that annoying

music every time I stop the car” (see Appendix F, Participant 2).

3. “I liked this idea a lot. It seemed to work and wasn’t going to let you forget

about having the baby in the car with you. It also will alert me when (child’s

name) gets out of her seat” (see Appendix F, Participant 5).


The ChildMinder® Smart Clip System

All eight participants stated that they would be unlikely to purchase this product.

All of the participants liked the use of technology. Three of the participants didn’t like the

idea that the original equipment clip would be removed from the car seat and replaced

with an aftermarket clip. However, when it came to evaluating the price of this product,

none of the participants could justify the cost. Of the two participants that tested this

product, participant eight stated:

It worked just like it was supposed to. I left our child in the car on purpose a

couple of times just to test it out. I could only get 15 or 20 feet away from

the car before it would go off. If it was cheaper, I’d buy it (see Appendix F).

Participant seven also tested this product and stated:

It worked every time. I didn’t like the process to turn it on at first but it

really isn’t all that different from pushing the buttons to lock or unlock the

car. It’s a good product, it’s just priced way out of a reasonable range (see

Appendix F).

Some of the other responses to this product included:

1. “It is extremely expensive” (see Appendix F, Participant 6).

2. “WOW. Who would pay that much?” (see Appendix F, Participant

4).

3. “This might work but I don’t need anything else on my key chain”

(see Appendix F, Participant 1).


The ChildMinder® Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System

All eight participants stated that they would be unlikely to purchase this product.

All of the participants liked the use of technology and three of the participants made

statements indicating that they didn’t think that a consumer should change out any of the

original equipment manufacturer parts. Two of these statements were positive about this

product in reference to the smart clip system and the other was negative stating, “It

should come with the car seat. I don’t think you should be changing out parts” (see

Appendix F, Participant 3).

Of the two participants that tested this product, participants four stated, “It was hard

to put together. Sometimes it didn’t work but usually it did. For this much money, it

should probably include installation” (see Appendix F). Participant three also tested this

product and stated, “My wife couldn’t make it work until the seat pad was adjusted. After

that, it was fine except one time when the pad thing got moved and needed to be adjusted

again” (see Appendix F).

All of the participants thought the price was too high and when asked specifically

about this products price point, they indicated their sentiments with the statements:

1. “Still WOW” (see Appendix F, Participant 4).

2. “Still very expensive” (see Appendix F, Participant 3).

3. “Way too expensive” (see Appendix F, Participant 1).

The Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System

Four of the eight participants stated that they would be unlikely to purchase this

product with the other four stating that they would likely purchase this product or have a


similar product printed on their own. Most of the participants liked the simplicity of the

product but the group was split on the price. Participant six tested this product and stated:

It worked great. The clip was a little stiff when I first started using it but it

seemed to loosen up. I didn’t like the big tag hanging down and hitting me

in the leg when I was driving. I quit using it because that got annoying (see

Appendix F).


1. “This is the same as tying a string around your finger. String is pretty

cheap” (see Appendix F, Participant 8).

2. “I think it would make me look stupid. I wouldn’t a big tag hanging around

that said, ‘Hey, don’t forget that your kid is in the car!’” (see Appendix F,

Participant 5).

3. “It would probably work but I don’t think anyone would really use it” (see

Appendix F, Participant 3).

The Teddy Bear

All eight participants favorably reviewed this product and stated that they already

had a teddy bear at home or they evaluated the price as free indicating that they already

had access to a teddy bear that would serve this purpose. Participant five tested this

product and stated:

I already had a teddy bear and put it in the car seat without anyone knowing

why it was there. They just thought it was something for (child’s name) to

play with. I did get distracted on the way to work a couple of times and the


teddy bear did get my attention. I don’t think I would have left (child’s

name) in the car though (see Appendix F).


1. “It would probably work. It doesn’t telegraph intent. (This answer was

followed up on with the following explanation.) “It doesn’t, on the surface,

tell people that you are afraid of forgetting your kid” (see Appendix F,

Participant 8).

2. “Everyone has a cute little teddy bear that they could drive around with.

This would probably work” (see Appendix F, Participant 7).

3. “Free is good” (see Appendix F, Participant 1).

While the technology based products garnered the most attention initially, some

members of the focus group cited reliability concerns but a majority of the participants

cited price as the major deterrent to the technology based products.

The Most Effective Product or Best Practice

According the Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group, when asked the question, “All

things considered, which product would you most likely recommend to your friends and

family to prevent their children from being inadvertently left in a vehicle?” 100% of the

focus group participants recommended using a teddy bear as a reminder that a child was

in the vehicle.

Discussion / Implications

IFD Child Locked in Vehicles Calls

The study of calls to unlock cars with children inside (see Appendix A) illustrated

the very real possibility for a child to be impacted by the harsh physiological effects of


hyperthermia by being left in an enclosed vehicle in the City of Irving. This report

gleaned numbers from the computer aided dispatch system but relied heavily on the

officer in charge of the incident recording the fact that a child was locked in the vehicle

in the remarks section of the incident report. This one fact leads the researcher to believe

that the reported number of children locked inside of vehicles in the City of Irving for any

year studied is actually understated. Yet, even these conservative figures indicate that a

child is locked inside of an enclosed vehicle in the City of Irving every 6 to 10 days

throughout the year. This number spotlights a high risk potential which may be

considered in the moderate to high frequency range but considering the high ambient

temperatures in Irving, Texas throughout most of the year, should definitely be

considered as high severity by risk managers. With this study pointing out the very high

probability of a child being inadvertently left in an enclosed vehicle and the

Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire pointing out a confirmed 56 to 84 children had

already been inadvertently left unattended in an enclosed vehicle, the research questions

then lead to asking, “How hot is too hot?” and “What can be done to prevent it from

happening?”

Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Rise over 60 Minutes

The study of temperature rise in an enclosed vehicle was tracked back to the early

1980’s. At that time, vehicles were not as insulated as their modern counterparts are and

the use of tinted glass was not as prevalent as it is in today’s vehicles. Even so, the

temperatures found in modern vehicles (see Appendix A) were very similar to the

temperatures found in the King et al (1981), Gibbs et al (1995), and McLaren et al (2005)

studies of temperature rise in enclosed vehicles. These studies found that the


temperatures in an enclosed vehicle could reach 153oF, 140oF, and 154oF respectively.

These temperatures are comparable to the 147oF temperature found in the enclosed

vehicle temperature study found in Appendix A. Even more striking was the fact that all

of the vehicle temperature rise studies found a rise in temperature that leveled out at 39oF

to 45oF above the ambient temperature.

A temperature rise inside of an enclosed vehicle of approximately 40oF from the

ambient temperature makes it very hazardous to leave a child inside of an enclosed

vehicle year round in the City of Irving. Periodic 70oF days with sunny skies are not

abnormal even in the winter months. At an ambient temperature of 70oF, the temperature

inside of an enclosed vehicle could easily reach 115oF and cause hyperthermia for a child

if left to suffer the effects of this extreme heating.

How Could Someone Forget Their Child?

“How could someone forget their child?” was one of the first questions asked by a

majority of people when discussing children dying of hyperthermia in a vehicle. While on

the surface we would like the answer to be that they are bad irresponsible people, the

facts discovered in case studies do not support this hypothesis. In his article Fatal

Distraction, Weingarten (2009) explored the character of several people who have

inadvertently left their children in an enclosed vehicle only to come back and find them

dead from hyperthermia. His conclusion that there is not a cultural, moral, educational, or

socioeconomic profile that describes who is likely to experience this type of tragedy is

very clearly stated.

While conducting the research for this applied research project, the researcher

experienced firsthand the heartbreak of a community when this tragic event occurred less


than five miles from his home on August 12, 2010 in the 2900 block of Katie Circle in

Wylie, Texas. Jason Adams had inadvertently left his two year old daughter, Carson, in

his sport utility vehicle when arriving home with his other four children, ages 6 to 9, at

approximately 2:30 pm. According to the police detective that investigated the case,

“Adams went inside the home and thought Carson was with the other children”

(Truesdell, 2010, p. A4). At approximately 5:20 when Adams began getting the children

ready for soccer practice, no one knew where Carson was. When he looked in his vehicle,

he found Carson not breathing, called 911, and performed CPR. The police reported that

Carson had been able to escape from her car seat but not from the car. The temperature

inside of the car was measured at 130.1oF at 6:00 pm and Carson’s body temperature was

108oF after being in the ambulance for at least an hour (Truesdell, 2010). This family is

active in the community; is respected in the community; and Jason Adams has a

reputation as caring, loving, attentive parent. He thought the other children had helped get

Carson get out of the car… just like they had so many times before. This time he was

tragically mistaken. In his studies of brain function and memory, David Diamond, the

Director of the University of South Florida Neuroscience Collaborative Research

Program would explain a mistake like this by saying, “If you are capable of forgetting

your cell phone, you are capable of forgetting your child” (Weingarten, 2009, p. 5).

What’s Available to Help You Remember Your Child?

Very few products are actually available to help parents remember that their

children are in the car with them. When researching the products that are available, it was

striking how many products have been developed but have never actually been produced

and marketed. Even NASA has developed a product, the Child Presence Sensor, which is


reported to be low cost, use space age technology, and be highly reliable (National

Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2002). This product has been available since

2002, however, NASA has been unable to find a commercial partner to license the

technology to.

Why Aren’t Products on the Shelves?

A pioneer in the child vehicle safety movement and the founder of Kids and Cars,

Janette Fennell, had high hopes for the Child Presence Sensor. She thought that the

dramatic story of a child’s death prompting NASA engineers to develop the product and

the backing of the NASA name would create strong public acceptance. The roadblocks to

production seemed to be: (a) the exposure of commercial partners to enormous liability if

the product failed and a child died; and (b) marketing studies that showed that the

products just wouldn’t sell well (Weingarten, 2009).

These two factors also came to the surface when the Hyperthermia Happens Focus

Group (see appendix F) evaluated products designed to remind parents that their children

were in the car. When presented with a product that required replacing the plastic chest

clip on the child safety seat with a sturdier aftermarket chest clip with built-in WiFi

technology, three of the eight focus group participants stated an aversion to altering the

safety seat from factory specification.

Participant two even stated, “I don’t like the idea of removing the clip that came

with the seat. What if I have a wreck and have altered the seat. What is my liability?”

(Appendix F). After considering this statement, this does not seem to be a question of the

participant’s liability at all. Instead, it appears to be a question about the manufacturer’s

liability if the consumer has altered the seat in any way.


By the same token, it appeared to be difficult to market child safety products to

people who did not believe that they were capable of inadvertently leaving their children

in a vehicle. When testing the effectiveness of using a teddy bear as a reminder that their

child was in the car, focus group participant five stated:

I already had a teddy bear and put it in the car seat without anyone knowing

why it was there. They just thought it was something for (child’s name) to

play with. I did get distracted on the way to work a couple of times and the

teddy bear did get my attention. I don’t think that I would have left (child’s

name) in the car though (Appendix F).

Even the self-acknowledgement that the child had been forgotten when the

participant got distracted was not enough for this participant to believe that it was

possible to actually get out of the vehicle without the child.

Another problem that would face potential marketers is the stigma of other people

thinking a caregiver was capable of forgetting their child. Several comments made by the

focus group point to the need for the development of a subtle reminder that is still

effective. When commenting on the effectiveness of the Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car

Reminder System, participant five stated, “I think it would make me look stupid. I

wouldn’t want a big tag hanging around that said, “Hey, don’t forget that your kid is in

the car!” (Appendix F). In the same vein, when evaluating the pros of using a stuffed

animal in the car seat, participant eight stated, “This would probably work. It doesn’t

telegraph intent.” When asked to expound on this answer this participant stated, “It

doesn’t, on the surface, tell people that you are afraid of leaving your kid in the car”

(Appendix F).


The final marketing dilemma appeared to be price. The prices of the products

evaluated by the focus group ranged from free to $189.00. Other than the teddy bear

which was for all intents and purposes free, the price on all of the other products was

rated as too high by a majority of the group. Even at $4.99, price remained a sticking

point for a majority of the participants in the focus group.

What was the most effective product?

When the focus group participants were asked the question, “All things considered,

which product would you most likely recommend to your friends and family to prevent

their children from being inadvertently left in a vehicle?” 100% of the participants

selected using a stuffed animal, and specifically, a teddy bear.

From the evaluations of the other products, using a stuffed animal had the distinct

price advantage of being free. Several participants stated that they already had a teddy

bear at home that they could use. Using a stuffed animal as a reminder also has the

advantage of blending into a child friendly environment. Unless you knew why that

particular stuffed animal was in the vehicle, it would just be seen as a part of the child’s

environment and not draw any unwanted judgment or criticism from peers for being

concerned that you might inadvertently leave you child in the vehicle.

Recommendations

Based on extensive literature review, a thermodynamic study of the rapid

temperature rise in enclosed vehicles, the evaluation of 231 anonymous questionnaires,

the evaluation of suggested best practices for preventing children from being

inadvertently left unattended in an enclosed vehicle, and the evaluation, by a focus group,

of products available to prevent children from being inadvertently left unattended in an


enclosed vehicle, the following recommendations are made for the Irving Fire

Department:

1) A public education program needs to be developed to inform the citizens of the

City of Irving about the rapid temperature rise experienced in an enclosed

vehicle and about the hazards of hyperthermia, and other heat related illnesses,

that can very quickly distress the youngest members of our population when

they are exposed to these extreme heating conditions. This public education

program should also educate the citizens about the functions and dysfunctions

of the brain that make leaving a child unattended in an enclosed vehicle a very

real possibility for anyone who has not proactively taken steps to prevent this

tragedy from occurring.

2) The Don’t Forget the Baby! window clings and rear view mirror hangers

distributed to the fire stations in the summer of 2010 may be too bold and

straight forward for main stream adoption by the citizens of our city.

Participants of the focus group clearly indicated that they were uncomfortable

with using reminders that others may see and that may cast their parenting

abilities in a negative light. The focus group unanimously preferred artifacts that

held meaning to them but blended into the environment. Changing the artifact to

a stuffed animal that rode in the child safety seat when it was unoccupied, but

could be moved to a position in the drivers field of view when the child was

riding in the safety seat, was unanimously the preferred option by the

participants of the focus group.


3) With the idea of creating artifacts that held meaning to the parents but blended

into the environment, consideration should be given producing a teddy bear

dressed in firefighting bunker gear with the message “I can take the heat!”

printed on the back of the coat and distributed as part of the public education

program.

4) Future study should include: (a) additional focus groups to garner a larger

statistical base for understanding the preferences of young parents, (b)

additional marketing studies to understand what young parents would be willing

to purchase to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring, and (c) additional

research into possible legislative actions that could mitigate the hazard through

engineering mandates or legislative enforcement.


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Appendices


Appendix A – IFD Child Locked In Vehicle Calls From 10/01/06 thru 10/01/10


Incident

# Date Time Unit(s)

Response Type

Census Tract

Remarks

FY 2006 -

2007 1 614680-00 10/6/2006 11:09:04 E6 Lock-out 14306 ASSISTED CITIZEN BY OPENING HIS LOCKED CAR. 2 614891-00 10/10/2006 14:23:11 E7 Lock-out 141.14 UNLOCK VEHICLE CHILD IN CAR ENGINE NOT RUNNING MILD TEMPERATURES 3 615772-00 10/27/2006 9:40:51 E7 Lock-out 14116 Child locked in vehicle 4 615898-00 10/29/2006 18:32:09 E4 Lock-out 14303 UNLOCK AUTO WITH TWO CHILDREN IN IT.

5 615934-00 10/30/2006 12:52:03 E4 Lock-out 14303 UNLOCK AUTO WITH BABY IN IT. 6 616944-00 11/17/2006 13:13:43 E2 Lock-out 14403 Child locked in a car. E2 unlocked the car 7 617486-00 11/28/2006 13:24:38 E2 Lock-out 14402 CHILD LOCKED IN A CAR 8 617743-00 12/3/2006 12:33:14 E1 Lock-out 15000 EMS CALL. Child locked in car 9 617998-00 12/8/2006 8:15:38 E2 Lock-out 14402 E2 unlocked car. Child locked inside 10 618241-00 12/12/2006 15:23:51 E2 Lock-out 14115 UNLOCK CAR WITH CHILD INSIDE. 11 618396-00 12/15/2006 16:30:38 E2 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCK CAR WITH CHILD INSIDE. 12 619087-00 12/29/2006 11:03:37 E7 Lock-out 14112 Child locked in car 13 701129-00 1/22/2007 15:44:18 E4 Lock-out 14304 UNLOCK AUTO WITH TWO BABIES INSIDE. 14 701200-00 1/23/2007 21:15:58 E1 Lock-out 15203 CHILD LOCKED IN AUTO.UNLOCKED CAR 15 702291-00 2/14/2007 12:06:40 E2 Lock-out 14402 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 16 702294-00 2/14/2007 13:19:17 E2 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCK AUTO CHILD IN CAR 17 702296-00 2/14/2007 14:46:33 E1 Lock-out 15100 CHILD LOCKED IN AUTO ACCIDENTLY 18 703017-00 2/27/2007 12:01:25 E4 Lock-out 14103 UNLOCK CAR WITH INFANT INSIDE. 19 703455-00 3/7/2007 19:01:03 E4 Lock-out 14500 UNLOCK CAR WITH KEYS AND KIDS INSIDE 20 703811-00 3/14/2007 14:11:17 E2 T2 Lock-out 14500 CHILDREN LOCKED IN CAR. UNLOCKED CAR AND FREED CHILDREN. 21 704284-00 3/24/2007 13:04:20 E1 Lock-out 14900 UNLOCK RUNNING AUTO WITH CHILD INSIDE 22 704295-00 3/24/2007 14:52:29 E11 Lock-out 14111 OPEN LOCKED VEHICLE WITH 2 TODDLERS INSIDE 23 705009-00 4/5/2007 14:17:18 E3 Lock-out 14700 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. DOOR UNLOCKED WITHOUT INCIDENT. 24 706163-00 4/27/2007 12:26:47 E7 Lock-out 14305 UNLOCK CAR WITH CHILD INSIDE 25 706219-00 4/28/2007 17:24:36 E3 Lock-out 15000 CHILD LOCKED IN VEHICLE. CHILD RESCUED NO DAMAGE TO VEHICLE. 26 706376-00 5/1/2007 12:18:06 M3 E3 Lock-out 14600 EMS CALL. Kids in car 27 706613-00 5/5/2007 8:49:34 E2 Lock-out 15202 UNLOCK CAR BABY INSIDE 28 706805-00 5/8/2007 9:11:48 E1 Lock-out 14900 CHILD LOCKED IN AUTO 29 707181-00 5/14/2007 18:01:32 E3 Lock-out 14600 KEYS LOCKED IN VEHICLE WITH SMALL CHILDREN. VEHICLE UNLOCKED WOTHOUT INCIDENT. 30 707551-00 5/21/2007 11:11:00 E6 Lock-out 14116 UNLOCKED CAR WITH BABY INSIDE 31 707761-00 5/25/2007 8:48:24 T7 E7 Lock-out 14113 Child locked in vehicle. FD unlocked vehicle.



32 707825-00 5/26/2007 10:05:55 E1 Lock-out 15000 UNLOCK AUTO.KIDS LOCKED INSIDE 33 707830-00 5/26/2007 11:27:40 E2 Lock-out 14500 UNLOCKED CAR WITH CHILD LOCKED IN SIDE. 34 708701-00 6/10/2007 12:27:24 E11 Lock-out 14111 EMS CALL CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 35 708750-00 6/11/2007 11:16:34 E1 Lock-out 14900 CHILD LOCKED INSIDE AUTOMOBILE. DOOR UNLOCKED BY IFD PERSONELL.

36 708804-00 6/12/2007 9:00:28 E2 Lock-out 14600 CHILD LOCKED IN VEHICLE. UNLOCKED VEHICLE 37 709481-00 6/25/2007 7:56:00 E2 Lock-out 14404 SMALL CHILD LOCKED IN VEHICLE WIHT KEYS INSIDE. UNLOCKED VEHICLE WITHOUT INCIDENT. 38 709699-00 6/28/2007 7:09:20 E2 Lock-out 14302 USED CAR DOOR TOOL TO GAIN ENTRY TO VEHICLE BABY LOCKED INSIDE 39 710260-00 7/7/2007 16:23:26 E3 Lock-out 14700 CHILD LOCKED IN RUNNING VEHICLE. VEHICLE OPENED WITHOUT INCIDENT 40 710662-00 7/16/2007 8:56:19 E1 Lock-out 15000 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. 41 711221-00 7/26/2007 17:48:32 E6 Lock-out 14116 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CAR UNLOCKED 42 711372-00 7/29/2007 15:48:53 E1 Lock-out 14900 RAINING WEATHER. INFANT CHILD LOCK IN CAR. VEHICLE RUNNING. CHILD RESCUED OUT OF CAR. 43 711482-00 7/31/2007 15:20:46 E7 Lock-out 14112 REPORTED CHILD LOCKED IN VEHICLE DISREGARDED ENROUTE BY DISPATCH CHILD EXTRICATED PRIOR

TO ARRIVAL. 44 711909-00 8/9/2007 16:24:06 E11 Lock-out 14103 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD INSIDE IN CAR SEAT. 45 711975-00 8/10/2007 17:57:26 E4 Lock-out 14302 LOCKOUT 46 712182-00 8/14/2007 13:45:56 E2 Lock-out 15203 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. VEHICLE NOT RUNNING 47 712310-00 8/16/2007 18:30:25 E6 Lock-out 14306 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CAR UNLOCKED FROM DRIVER'S DOOR. 48 712597-00 8/21/2007 15:21:34 E5 Lock-out 15302 CHILD ACCIDENTALLY LOCKED IN CAR IN HEAT. WE UNLOCKED CAR. CHILD OK NO FIRE NO LOSS. 49 712783-00 8/25/2007 11:42:51 E11 Lock-out 14304 Child Locked in auto 50 712791-00 8/25/2007 14:37:05 E6 Lock-out 14115 Child locked in car. Car opened. 51 712801-00 8/25/2007 18:35:35 E6 Lock-out 14404 CHILD OUT OF CAR ON ARRIVAL 52 712837-00 8/26/2007 15:32:33 E7 Lock-out 14305 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD INSIDE 53 712839-00 8/26/2007 15:36:33 M2 E4 E7 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD INSIDE 54 713218-00 9/2/2007 23:55:22 E2 Lock-out 15203 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 55 713385-00 9/6/2007 8:20:48 E2 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD INSIDE. 56 714258-00 9/21/2007 7:33:51 E2 Lock-out 14500 CHILD LOCKED IN A CAR. OPENED WITH EZ TOOL. 57 714565-00 9/26/2007 13:01:35 E11 Lock-out 14111 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH INFANT INSIDE. 58 714573-00 9/26/2007 14:33:34 E1 Lock-out 14900 UNLOCK AUTO WITH CHILD INSIDE

FY 2007 -

2008 1 714896-00 10/2/2007 20:00:06 E1 Lock-out 15000 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD INSIDE. 2 715640-00 10/17/2007 17:09:56 E11 Lock-out 14109 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR - UNLOCKED VEHICLE 3 716944-00 11/12/2007 6:59:20 E7 Lock-out 14304 Child locked in car 4 717073-00 11/14/2007 11:53:16 E11 Lock-out 14103 UNLOCKED CAR CHILD INISIDE 5 717237-00 11/17/2007 12:50:57 E1 Lock-out 15100 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. NO INJURY. NO DAMAGE TO CAR. 6 717854-00 11/29/2007 15:23:49 E2 Lock-out 14600 UNLOCK CAR WITH INFANT INSIDE. 7 718481-00 12/11/2007 13:45:26 E11 Lock-out 14111 child locked in auto



8 718596-00 12/13/2007 13:51:29 E2 Lock-out 14403 UNLOCKED VEHICLE WITH CHILD LOCKED INSIDE. 9 800467-00 1/9/2008 18:00:14 E1 Lock-out 14900 UNLOCK AUTO WITH CHILDREN INSIDE 10 801892-00 2/5/2008 7:46:07 E3 Lock-out 14700 KID LOCKED IN CAR 11 802122-00 2/9/2008 20:44:27 E1 Lock-out 14802 BABY LOCKED IN AUTOMOBILE WE UNLOCKED THE AUTO [ NO DAMAGE ] 12 802996-00 2/27/2008 11:59:54 E3 Lock-out 14801 E3 AOSTF CHILD LOCKED IN CAR . E3 REMOVED CHILD TO MOM . 13 803371-00 3/5/2008 7:50:53 E7 Lock-out 14306 Child locked in running vehicle 14 803572-00 3/9/2008 12:38:12 E1 Lock-out 14801 UNLOCK AUTO WHICH CHILD LOCKED INSIDE. 15 803930-00 3/16/2008 9:43:40 E1 Lock-out 14801 CALLED TO A CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CHILD OUT OF CAR ON E1 ARRIVAL. CHILD IN NO DISTRESS. 16 804892-00 4/3/2008 7:53:53 E1 Lock-out 15100 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CAR UNLOCKED WITHOUT DAMAGE. 17 805726-00 4/15/2008 17:05:07 E1 Lock-out 14600 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CAR UNLOCKED WITH NO DAMAGE 18 805709-00 4/15/2008 11:35:07 E1 Lock-out 14900 CHILDREN LOCKED IN CAR. CAR UNLOCKED WITHOUT DAMAGE. 19 805956-00 4/20/2008 15:20:58 E11 Lock-out 14109 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH INFANT LOCKED INSIDE 20 806459-00 4/29/2008 7:22:16 E2 Lock-out 14404 CHILD LOCKED IN VEHICLE AT FUEL PUMPS. UNLOCKED. 21 806535-00 4/30/2008 12:14:10 E6 Lock-out 14404 2 MONTH OLD CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. VEHICLE OPENED IN 5 MINUTES 22 806604-00 5/1/2008 18:16:42 E7 Lock-out 14112 Child locked in vehicle. 23 806832-00 5/5/2008 16:58:50 E6 Lock-out 14116 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR IFD UNLOCKED CAR. SEE IFD FORM 18 24 807535-00 5/19/2008 11:27:00 E6 Lock-out 14403 Child locked inside car engine running. The door was opened quickly. The infant was removed and his

temperature was taken. It was 100*F. FEO Beverly She reasons for concern. Then we left inside to cool down first. Then she would decide. FEO Beverly gave his take the child to the ER or her doctor. She said she wanted to take the child refused the offer. FEO Beverly then advised the mother she might want to advised the mother that we would call the ambulance to check him out.

25 807542-00 5/19/2008 13:49:43 E11 Lock-out 14110 INFANT IN CAR UNLOCKED CAR 26 807602-00 5/20/2008 10:56:33 E6 Lock-out 14404 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR IFD UNLOCKED CAR 27 808117-00 5/29/2008 19:53:37 E4 Lock-out 14600 CHILD LOCKED IN VEHICLE. OPENED VEHICLE. 28 808142-00 5/30/2008 8:32:09 E11 Lock-out 14111 Child locked in car 29 808236-00 5/31/2008 22:11:20 E11 Lock-out 14111 Child locked in auto 30 809308-00 6/19/2008 18:31:37 E11 Lock-out 14111 UNLOCK RUNNING VEHICLE WITH CHILDREN INSIDE 31 809582-00 6/25/2008 7:30:49 E1 Lock-out 15000 UNLOCK RUNNING AUTO WITH CHILD INSIDE 32 810853-00 7/19/2008 21:30:16 E6 Lock-out 14404 UNLOCKED CAR 33 811339-00 7/29/2008 14:02:34 E1 Lock-out 15100 CHILD LOCKED IN RUNNING AUTO. AC RUNNING IN AUTO. AUTO UNLOCKED WITH NO DAMAGE. 34 811376-00 7/30/2008 9:28:12 E4 E7 Lock-out 14111 E7 ARRIVED ON SCENE TO FIND 18 MONTH OLD IN A LOCKED VEHICLE THAT WAS NOT RUNNING.

MOTHER STATES THAT SHE TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF THREW IN DOOR WAS DAMAGED.THE PROCESS A PIECE OF THE MATERIAL ON THE INSIDE OF THE THESMALL WINDOW IN THE DRIVER'S SIDE REAR DOOR WAS TAKEN OUT AND FRIGHTENED AS WELL SO SHE ASKED THAT WE BREAK THE WINDOW. A STARTED TO GET FRIGHTENED AND MOTHER WAS BECOMING VERY UNLOCK THE VEHICLE AND WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE CHILD WAS IN THE STORE. THE CREW OF E7 TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO STARBUCKS. THE CHILD PUSHED THE LOCK BUTTON WHILE MOTHER KEYS IN THE SEAT AND WENT IN TO

35 811972-00 8/9/2008 21:39:17 T7 E6 Lock-out 14112 CHILD LOCKED IN TRUCK. E-6 UNLOCKED TRUCK SEE IFD FORM 18 36 812025-00 8/11/2008 7:38:42 E4 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCK AUTO BABY INSIDE. 37 812316-00 8/17/2008 21:17:34 E2 Lock-out 14500 PERSONS WERE IN STORAGE AREA AFTER CLOSING AND GATE WOULD NOT OPEN. E2 USED OPENER TO

LET THEM OUT.



38 812349-00 8/18/2008 12:38:15 E3 E3 Lock-out 14700 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CAR OPENED WITHOUT INCIDENT. 39 813477-00 9/9/2008 14:19:18 E2 Lock-out 14402 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 40 813636-00 9/12/2008 15:57:14 E10 Lock-out 14109 EMS CALL - CHILD LOCKED IN CAR FOR 5 MINUTES - VEHICLE UNLOCKED 41 813981-00 9/18/2008 16:53:40 E7 Lock-out 14113 MOTHER HAD LOCKED HER KEYS IN THE CAR WITH HER INFANT SON STILL IN VEHICLE. CAR UNLOCKED

WITHOUT INCIDENT AND INFANT CHILD WAS UNHARMED. 42 814034-00 9/19/2008 16:11:26 E7 Lock-out 14103 Child locked in vehicle. 43 814574-00 9/29/2008 19:45:24 E11 Lock-out 14111 VEHICLE OPENED BY MOTHER PRIOR TO ARRIVAL. PD ON LOCATION COUNSELING MOTHER ABOUT

LEAVING CHILDREN IN VEHICLE ALONE.

FY 2008 -

2009 1 814862-00 10/5/2008 19:04:19 E11 Lock-out 14111 2 Y/O CHILD LOCKED SELF IN APT. FORCED ENTRY FOR PARENTS. 2 815274-00 10/15/2008 8:33:17 E10 Lock-out 14110 Child locked in car - unlock vehicle and checked for illness/injury. No apparent injury/illness. 3 815819-00 10/26/2008 11:32:58 E5 Lock-out 15302 CHILD LOCKED IN VEHICLE. WE UNLOCKED VEHICLE. NO FIRE NO LOSS 4 815935-00 10/28/2008 14:57:23 E4 Lock-out 14302 CHILD LOCKED AUTO. 5 817085-00 11/19/2008 17:26:26 E1 Lock-out 14801 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR NO DAMAGE OCCURED TO CAR 6 817724-00 12/1/2008 22:15:49 E11 Lock-out 14111 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD INSIDE IN CAR SEAT 7 817748-00 12/2/2008 13:21:03 E11 Lock-out 14111 Child locked in auto 8 818100-00 12/9/2008 19:48:30 E2 Lock-out 14402 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CAR OPENED. ASSIST ENTRY REQUEST FORM SIGNED AND SENT IN THRU DEPT.

MAIL. 9 818711-00 12/20/2008 21:44:46 E6 Lock-out 14115 UNLOCK AUTO CHILD INSIDE 10 818799-00 12/22/2008 14:25:34 E2 Lock-out 14306 UNLOCK RUNNING VEHICLE WITH CHILD IN SIDE. 11 900285-00 1/7/2009 11:37:01 E11 Lock-out 14111 Child locked in auto 12 900405-00 1/9/2009 15:16:08 E11 Lock-out 14125 DISPATCHED TO UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD INSIDE. CHILD ACCESSED PRIOR TO FD ARRIVAL. 13 901159-00 1/25/2009 15:34:52 E5 Lock-out 14402 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 14 901367-00 1/28/2009 18:42:19 E4 Lock-out 14306 NO FIRE NO FIRE LOSS. PARENTS WERE PLACING CHILD IN REAR CAR SEAT WHEN THE DOOR WAS

SHUT AND LOCKED. WE USED OUR DOOR OPENING TOOLS TO OPEN THE DOOR WITHOUT DAMAGE AND FOUND THE CHILD IN GOOD CONDITION.

15 901556-00 2/1/2009 15:26:32 E2 Lock-out 14303 CHILD OUT OF CAR ON ARRIVAL. 16 902200-00 2/14/2009 20:40:49 E1 Lock-out 15100 CHILD LOCKED IN AUTO 17 902310-00 2/16/2009 16:17:53 E2 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCK CAR 18 902373-00 2/17/2009 21:25:43 E2 Lock-out 14500 DISREGARDED IN ROUTE 19 902576-00 2/21/2009 11:52:52 E6 Lock-out 14115 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. UNLOCK AUTO DRIVER'S DOOR 20 903153-00 3/5/2009 9:21:59 E2 Lock-out 14900 CALLED FOR A CHILD LOCKED IN A CAR. UPON OUR ARRIVAL CAR WAS UNLOCKED AND CHILD

REMOVED FROM CAR. 21 904125-00 3/22/2009 19:02:17 E11 Lock-out 14111 UNLOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD INSIDE 22 904286-00 3/25/2009 14:54:25 E5 Lock-out 15203 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. NO FIRE NO LOSS. 23 904870-00 4/6/2009 11:20:04 E3 E1 Lock-out 14700 UNLOCK CAR CHILD IN CAR NOT RUNNING 24 905253-00 4/13/2009 12:48:51 E1 Lock-out 14900 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR UNINTENTIONAL. CAR UNLOCKED WITHOUT DAMAGE



25 905237-00 4/13/2009 8:18:40 E7 Lock-out 14112 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 26 906419-00 5/5/2009 18:06:48 E6 Lock-out 14404 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CHILD REMOVED PTA. 27 907242-00 5/21/2009 13:11:55 E3 Lock-out 14700 CHILD IN LOCKED CAR. BABY APPEARED NORMAL. 28 907308-00 5/22/2009 16:00:40 E5 Lock-out 15302 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 29 907794-00 5/31/2009 19:28:53 E10 Lock-out 14109 Child locked in running vehicle 30 910278-00 7/13/2009 22:51:53 E7 Lock-out 143.05 EMS CALL CHILD HAD BEEN LOCKED IN THE CAR BUT WAS NOT IN THE CAR UPON ARRIVAL AS THEY

HAD TALKED THE CHILD INTO GETTING OUT OF HIS SEAT AND UNLOCKING THE DOOR. 31 910858-00 7/25/2009 11:04:39 E11 Lock-out 14111 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR UNLOCKED CAR 32 911417-00 8/4/2009 17:28:13 E4 Lock-out 14302 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CAR ACCESSED WITH UNLOCKING TOOL. 33 911565-00 8/7/2009 11:21:54 E4 Lock-out 14202 PARENT HAD LOCKED CHILD IN CAR ON ACCIDENT. CAR UNLOCKED BY IFD. CAR AND A/C WERE BOTH

RUNNING SO CHILD WAS NOT HARMED BY THE HEAT. 34 912642-00 8/29/2009 2:57:39 E1 Lock-out 15100 UN-LOCK VEHICLE WITH CHILD LOCKED IN SIDE. 35 913640-00 9/16/2009 18:48:53 E6 Lock-out 14116 UNLOCK AUTO 2 SMALL CHILDREN INSIDE

FY 2009 -

2010 1 914470-00 10/2/2009 14:03:45 E2 Lock-out 14306 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. GAINED ACCESS TO CAR. NO DAMAGE NOTED. CHILD IN NO DISTRESS. 2 914633-00 10/6/2009 12:18:08 E8 Lock-out 14304 UNLOCKED VEHICLE WITH YOUNG CHILD LOCKED INSIDE AND VEHICLE RUNNING. NO DAMAGE

OCCURRED TO VEHICLE CURING THE UNLOCKING PROCESS. OWNER SIGNED FORM GIVING FD PERMISSION TO UNLOCK VEHICLE.

3 914796-00 10/9/2009 11:57:15 E6 Lock-out 14116 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. IFD UNLOCKED CAR. 4 915089-00 10/14/2009 16:56:17 E2 Lock-out 14402 SMALL CHILD WAS LOCKED IN BACK SEAT OF A MOTOR VEHICLE. BIG EASY WAS USED TO GET THE

CHILD OUT. 5 915500-00 10/22/2009 15:28:24 E2 Lock-out 14900 CHILD LOCKED IN A CAR. CHILD REMOVED BY IFD. 6 917675-00 12/5/2009 19:02:20 E11 Lock-out 14111 UNLOCK CAR CHILD IN CAR 7 918026-00 12/12/2009 16:14:23 E2 Lock-out 14500 INFANT IN CAR SEAT LOCKED INSIDE CAR. CAR UNLOCKED AND PARENTS WITH CHILD WITH NO

INCIDENT 8 918177-00 12/15/2009 15:37:18 E6 Lock-out 14116 UNLOCK TAN PT CRUISER WITH CHILD LOCKED INSIDE 9 918240-00 12/16/2009 17:00:11 E2 T2 Lock-out 14306 CHILD LOCKED IN RUNNING CAR. CHILD FREED W/O INCIDENT. 10 918293-00 12/17/2009 18:09:36 E7 E6 Lock-out 14113 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR IFD UNLOCKED CAR 11 918923-00 12/29/2009 12:43:46 E2 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCK RUNNING CAR WITH CHILD INSIDE. 12 000310-00 1/6/2010 17:48:16 E10 Lock-out 14109 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR

13 000416-00 1/8/2010 7:36:19 E3 Lock-out 14700 UNLOCK CAR 14 000645-00 1/10/2010 15:27:15 E6 Lock-out 14404 UNLOCKED AUTOMOBILE 15 000783-00 1/12/2010 18:51:18 E4 Lock-out 14303 UNLOCK CAR 16 000798-00 1/12/2010 21:48:37 E6 Lock-out 14116 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. 17 000965-00 1/15/2010 18:34:11 E2 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCKED CAR WITH CHILD INSIDE WEATHER WAS RAINY NO VISIBLE DAMAGE DONE TO CAR 18 001623-00 1/27/2010 18:31:54 E5 E2 Lock-out 15202 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CHILD IN CAR SEAT. NO DISTRESS. E2 OPENED CAR DOOR 19 001665-00 1/28/2010 15:50:20 E11 E10 Lock-out 14110 Mrs. Franks had locked her child in car. E-10 unlocked vehicle without damage to vehicle. Child safe.



20 002344-00 2/10/2010 10:24:57 E4 Lock-out 14303 NO FIRE NO FIRE LOSS. OCCUPANT OF VEHICLE LEFT THE KEYS IN HER VEHICLE AND HER INFANT CHILD LOCKED THE DOORS WITH THE ELECTRONIC SWITCH. WE OPENED THE RIGHT SIDE DOOR USING AN INFLATABLE AIR CUFF WEDGE AND LONG TOOK WITHOUT DAMAGING THE VEHICLE. THE CHILD WAS IN NO DISTRESS WHEN WE GAINED ACCESS TO HIM.

21 003064-00 2/21/2010 11:59:53 E6 Lock-out 14115 CHILD LOCKED IN AUTOMOBILE. UNLOCKED AUTOMOBILE 22 003250-00 2/25/2010 8:03:28 E6 Lock-out 14116 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. BIG EASY USED THROUGH FRONT PASSENGER DOOR. FORM 18 COMPLETED. 23 003380-00 2/27/2010 16:48:41 E2 Lock-out 14306 UNLOCKED VEHICLE THAT HAD A SMALL BABY LOCKED INSIDE. 24 005091-00 4/2/2010 17:28:23 E6 Lock-out 14115 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 25 005801-00 4/16/2010 7:57:30 E2 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCK VEHICLE. CHILD IN CAR. 26 006307-00 4/25/2010 16:29:03 E4 Lock-out 14302 CHILD WAS LOCKED IN A RUNNING CAR. THE A/C WAS ON AND THE CHILD WAS NOT IN ANY

DISTRESS. IFD UNLOCKED CAR WITHOUT ANY DAMAGE TO VEHICLE. 27 006529-00 4/29/2010 17:47:08 E6 Lock-out 14113 Child locked in car 28 006742-00 5/3/2010 19:37:06 E6 Lock-out 14116 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. OPENED WITHOUT INCIDENT. 29 007079-00 5/9/2010 19:07:30 E8 Lock-out 14304 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. ASSIST ENTRY FORM SENT IN. 30 007601-00 5/18/2010 21:39:05 E11 Lock-out 14111 UNLOCK HONDA ODDESY WITH CHILD LOCKED INSIDE. 31 007628-00 5/19/2010 12:12:26 E5 E2 Lock-out 15302 VEHICLE LOCKED WITH TWO CHILDREN INSIDE. USED WEDGE AND ROD TO PUSH ELECTRIC WINDOW

BUTTON AN GAIN ENTRY 32 008990-00 6/13/2010 11:19:14 E2 Lock-out 14500 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR IFD MADE ENTRY 33 009175-00 6/16/2010 18:53:40 E11 Lock-out 14111 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. UNLOCKED VEHICLE. 34 009437-00 6/21/2010 11:10:25 E6 Lock-out 14115 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. IFD UNLOCKED CAR 35 009857-00 6/28/2010 16:53:34 E3 Lock-out 14700 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 36 010426-00 7/9/2010 12:59:09 E7 E4 Lock-out 14304 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CAR UNLOCKED WITHOUT INCIDENCE. 37 010905-00 7/17/2010 16:32:42 E6 Lock-out 14403 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. CALLER ONLY INDICATED KEYS WERE LOCKED IN CAR. DID NOT SAY ANYTHING

ABOUT CHILD SO CALL WAS CODE 1. CHILD REMOVED WITHOUT INCIDENT 38 011054-00 7/20/2010 8:20:34 E6 Lock-out 14402 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 39 012517-00 8/17/2010 11:58:37 M6 E6 Lock-out 14115 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR WITH AC RUNNING IFD UNLOCKED CAR. 40 012553-00 8/17/2010 19:46:18 E1 Lock-out 14802 UNLOCK A CAR WITH A CHILD INSIDE. 41 012582-00 8/18/2010 12:04:55 E11 Lock-out 14111 CHILDREN LOCKED INSIDE OF VEHICLE. VEHICLE NOT RUNNING. UNLOCKED DRIVERS DOOR.

PASSENGER DOOR TRIM DAMAGED PRIOR TO ARRIVAL. 42 012772-00 8/21/2010 16:25:44 E4 Lock-out 14303 CHILD LOCKED IN A RUNNING VEHICLE WITH A/C RUNNING. OPENED DOOR WITHOUT INCIDENT.

BABY WAS COOL TO THE TOUCH. ACTING APPROPRIATELY. 43 013387-00 9/2/2010 19:51:21 E6 Lock-out 14115 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. UNLOCKED ON PASSENGER FRONT DOOR OF BLACK DODGE 4 DOOR TRUCK 44 013453-00 9/3/2010 23:00:49 E6 Lock-out 14403 REPORT OF CHILD LOCKED IN CAR. IPD HAD ALREADY OPENED CAR PTA 45 014066-00 9/14/2010 12:03:18 E2 Lock-out 14115 CHILD LOCKED IN CAR 46 014378-00 9/20/2010 13:04:48 E10 Lock-out 14109 Child in locked auto. E10 unlocked the car. Child very upset but appeared unharmed and was retrieved

from car by her mother. 47 014553-00 9/23/2010 14:18:28 T2 Lock-out 15202 CHILD LOCKED IN A CAR. 48 014790-00 9/27/2010 17:56:49 E2 Lock-out 14402 UNLOCKED VEHICLE PARKED IN FRONT OF THIS ADDRESS TEMP. IS IN THE 70 DEGREE RANGE.

CHILDREN WERE OK NO DANGER OF HEAT PROBLEMS IT WAS ACCIDENTALLY LOCK BY ANOTHER CHILD WHILE MOTHER WAS PUTTING UP THE STROLLER



58

43

35

4846

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Fiscal Years

Irving Fire DepartmentChild Locked in Vehicle Responses

FY 2006 - 2007

FY 2007 - 2008

FY 2008 - 2009

FY 2009 - 2010

4 Fiscal Year Average


Appendix B – Don’t Forget the Baby!


Don’t Forget the Baby! window cling.



Don’t Forget the Baby! rear view mirror hanger.


Appendix C – Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Study


Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Rise Over 60 Minutes

Date Vehicle Time

Starting Temp.

(F)

Temp. (F) + 10

Min 10 Min. Increase

Temp. (F) + 20


Temp. (F) + 30


Temp. (F) + 40


Temp. (F) + 50


Temp. (F) + 60

Min 60 Min. Increase Conditions

07/01/10 1 3:00 PM 84 100 16 112 28 116 32 120 36 122 38 125 41 Cloudy 07/04/10 2 12:00 PM 86 99 13 109 23 115 29 119 33 125 39 128 42 Cloudy 07/13/10 3 9:00 AM 86 105 19 115 29 121 35 125 39 129 43 133 47 Sunny 07/16/10 4 3:00 PM 97 117 20 125 28 130 33 136 39 139 42 141 44 Cloudy 07/19/10 5 5:00 PM 97 121 24 132 35 137 40 141 44 144 47 147 50 Sunny 07/25/10 5 12:00 PM 94 116 22 126 32 131 37 135 41 138 44 141 47 Sunny 07/31/10 1 10:00 AM 87 104 17 113 26 117 30 121 34 124 37 127 40 Cloudy 08/03/10 5 11:00 AM 94 116 22 125 31 131 37 136 42 140 46 143 49 Sunny 08/09/10 2 1:00 PM 97 120 23 129 32 133 36 136 39 139 42 139 42 Sunny 08/12/10 3 7:00 AM 84 97 13 104 20 108 24 111 27 113 29 115 31 Sunny 08/18/10 5 9:00 AM 87 97 10 105 18 109 22 109 22 107 20 105 18 Rain 08/21/10 2 12:00 PM 95 115 20 123 28 128 33 131 36 133 38 134 39 Sunny 08/24/10 1 8:00 AM 86 99 13 111 25 114 28 117 31 119 33 123 37 Sunny 08/27/10 3 2:00 PM 92 112 20 122 30 127 35 130 38 133 41 134 42 Sunny 09/05/10 4 7:00 AM 68 82 14 87 19 90 22 92 24 95 27 97 29 Sunny 09/08/10 1 9:00 AM 77 88 11 94 17 99 22 102 25 103 26 104 27 Rain 09/14/10 2 2:00 PM 92 104 12 110 18 115 23 117 25 120 28 122 30 Cloudy 09/17/10 1 4:00 PM 95 107 12 117 22 122 27 126 31 130 35 133 38 Cloudy 09/29/10 5 1:00 PM 82 102 20 113 31 121 39 125 43 128 46 132 50 Sunny 10/02/10 4 10:00 AM 70 87 17 97 27 102 32 106 36 109 39 112 42 Sunny 10/05/10 2 8:00 AM 54 64 10 77 23 82 28 84 30 86 32 88 34 Cloudy 10/08/10 3 11:00 AM 75 90 15 99 24 105 30 110 35 113 38 115 40 Sunny 10/11/10 3 2:00 PM 81 100 19 108 27 112 31 116 35 119 38 121 40 Cloudy 10/14/10 4 4:00 PM 76 95 19 105 29 110 34 113 37 116 40 119 43 Sunny 10/17/10 4 5:00 PM 84 99 15 104 20 109 25 112 28 116 32 119 35 Cloudy Averages 85 101 17 110 25 115 31 119 34 122 37 124 39



0

10

20

30

40

50

60

10 Min. Increase 20 Min. Increase 30 Min. Increase 40 Min. Increase 50 Min. Increase 60 Min. Increase

Tem

pera

ture

Ris

e in

Deg

rees

Far

enhe

it

Time in 10 Minute Increments

Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Rise Over 60 Minutes07/01/10

07/04/10

07/13/10

07/16/10

07/19/10

07/25/10

07/31/10

08/03/10

08/09/10

08/12/10

08/18/10

08/21/10

08/24/10

08/27/10

09/05/10

09/08/10

09/14/10

09/17/10

09/29/10



17

26

31

34

37

39

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45


Tem

pera

ture

Ris

e in

Deg

rees

Far

enhe

it

Time In 10 Minute Increments

Average Enclosed Vehicle Temperature Rise Over 60 Minutes



Average Temperature Rise in Individual Enclosed Vehicles

Vehicle Date Time

Starting Temp.

(F)

Temp. (F) + 10


Temp. (F) + 20


Temp. (F) + 30


Temp. (F) + 40


Temp. (F) + 50


Temp. (F) + 60


1 07/01/10 3:00 PM 84 100 16 112 28 116 32 120 36 122 38 125 41 Cloudy 1 07/31/10 10:00AM 87 104 17 113 26 117 30 121 34 124 37 127 40 Cloudy 1 08/24/10 8:00 AM 86 99 13 111 25 114 28 117 31 119 33 123 37 Sunny 1 09/08/10 9:00 AM 77 88 11 94 17 99 22 102 25 103 26 104 27 Rain 1 09/17/10 4:00 PM 95 107 12 117 22 122 27 126 31 130 35 133 38 Cloudy

Averages 86 100 14 109 24 114 28 117 31 120 34 122 37

2 07/04/10 12:00 PM 86 99 13 109 23 115 29 119 33 125 39 128 42 Cloudy 2 08/09/10 1:00 PM 97 120 23 129 32 133 36 136 39 139 42 139 42 Sunny 2 08/21/10 12:00 PM 95 115 20 123 28 128 33 131 36 133 38 134 39 Sunny 2 09/14/10 2:00 PM 92 104 12 110 18 115 23 117 25 120 28 122 30 Cloudy 2 10/05/10 8:00 AM 54 64 10 77 23 82 28 84 30 86 32 88 34 Cloudy

Averages 85 100 16 110 25 115 30 117 33 121 36 122 37

3 07/13/10 9:00 AM 86 105 19 115 29 121 35 125 39 129 43 133 47 Sunny 3 08/12/10 7:00 AM 84 97 13 104 20 108 24 111 27 113 29 115 31 Sunny 3 08/27/10 2:00 PM 92 112 20 122 30 127 35 130 38 133 41 134 42 Sunny

3 10/08/10 11:00AM 75 90 15 99 24 105 30 110 35 113 38 115 40 Sunny 3 10/11/10 2:00 PM 81 100 19 108 27 112 31 116 35 119 38 121 40 Cloudy

Averages 84 101 17 110 26 115 31 118 35 121 38 124 40

4 10/17/10 5:00 PM 84 99 15 104 20 109 25 112 28 116 32 119 35 Cloudy 4 09/05/10 7:00 AM 68 82 14 87 19 90 22 92 24 95 27 97 29 Sunny 4 07/16/10 3:00 PM 97 117 20 125 28 130 33 136 39 139 42 141 44 Cloudy 4 10/02/10 10:00AM 70 87 17 97 27 102 32 106 36 109 39 112 42 Sunny 4 10/14/10 4:00 PM 76 95 19 105 29 110 34 113 37 116 40 119 43 Sunny

Averages 79 96 17 104 25 108 29 112 33 115 36 118 39

5 07/19/10 5:00 PM 97 121 24 132 35 137 40 141 44 144 47 147 50 Sunny 5 07/25/10 12:00PM 94 116 22 126 32 131 37 135 41 138 44 141 47 Sunny 5 08/03/10 11:00AM 94 116 22 125 31 131 37 136 42 140 46 143 49 Sunny 5 08/18/10 9:00 AM 87 97 10 105 18 109 22 109 22 107 20 105 18 Rain 5 09/29/10 1:00 PM 82 102 20 113 31 121 39 125 43 128 46 132 50 Sunny

Averages 91 110 20 120 29 126 35 129 38 131 41 134 43



14

24

28

31

34

37

16

25

3033

36

37

17

26

31

35

38

40

17

25

29

33

36

39

20

29

35

38

41

43

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45


Tem

pera

ture

Ris

e in

Deg

rees

Far

enhe

it


Average Temperature Rise in Individual Enclosed Vehicles

Vehicle 1

Vehicle 2

Vehicle 3

Vehicle 4

Vehicle 5

Vehicle 1 White 2006 Lexus GS 350 with Tan Interior and Tinted Glass Vehicle 2 Camo 2006 H3 Hummer with Tan Interior and Non-Tinted Glass Vehicle 3 Black 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche with Tan Interior and Tinted Glass Vehicle 4 Gold 2004 Hyundai Sante Fe with Tan Interior and non-Tinted Glass Vehicle 5 Gold 2008 Chevrolet Suburban with Black Interior and Tinted Glass



Average Temperature Rise by Weather Conditions

Vehicle Date Time

Starting Temp.

(F)

Temp. (F) + 10


Temp. (F) + 20


Temp. (F) + 30


Temp. (F) + 40


Temp. (F) + 50


Temp. (F) + 60


1 07/01/10 3:00 PM 84 100 16 112 28 116 32 120 36 122 38 125 41 Cloudy 2 07/04/10 12:00 PM 86 99 13 109 23 115 29 119 33 125 39 128 42 Cloudy 4 07/16/10 3:00 PM 97 117 20 125 28 130 33 136 39 139 42 141 44 Cloudy 1 07/31/10 10:00 AM 87 104 17 113 26 117 30 121 34 124 37 127 40 Cloudy 2 09/14/10 2:00 PM 92 104 12 110 18 115 23 117 25 120 28 122 30 Cloudy 1 09/17/10 4:00 PM 95 107 12 117 22 122 27 126 31 130 35 133 38 Cloudy 2 10/05/10 8:00 AM 54 64 10 77 23 82 28 84 30 86 32 88 34 Cloudy 3 10/11/10 2:00 PM 81 100 19 108 27 112 31 116 35 119 38 121 40 Cloudy 4 10/17/10 5:00 PM 84 99 15 104 20 109 25 112 28 116 32 119 35 Cloudy

Cloudy Averages 84 99 15 108 24 113 29 117 32 120 36 123 38

5 08/18/10 9:00 AM 87 97 10 105 18 109 22 109 22 107 20 105 18 Rain 1 09/08/10 9:00 AM 77 88 11 94 17 99 22 102 25 103 26 104 27 Rain

Rainy Averages 82 93 11 100 18 104 22 106 24 105 23 105 23

3 07/13/10 9:00 AM 86 105 19 115 29 121 35 125 39 129 43 133 47 Sunny 5 07/19/10 5:00 PM 97 121 24 132 35 137 40 141 44 144 47 147 50 Sunny

5 07/25/10 12:00 PM 94 116 22 126 32 131 37 135 41 138 44 141 47 Sunny 5 08/03/10 11:00 AM 94 116 22 125 31 131 37 136 42 140 46 143 49 Sunny 2 08/09/10 1:00 PM 97 120 23 129 32 133 36 136 39 139 42 139 42 Sunny 3 08/12/10 7:00 AM 84 97 13 104 20 108 24 111 27 113 29 115 31 Sunny 2 08/21/10 12:00 PM 95 115 20 123 28 128 33 131 36 133 38 134 39 Sunny 1 08/24/10 8:00 AM 86 99 13 111 25 114 28 117 31 119 33 123 37 Sunny 3 08/27/10 2:00 PM 92 112 20 122 30 127 35 130 38 133 41 134 42 Sunny 4 09/05/10 7:00 AM 68 82 14 87 19 90 22 92 24 95 27 97 29 Sunny 5 09/29/10 1:00 PM 82 102 20 113 31 121 39 125 43 128 46 132 50 Sunny 4 10/02/10 10:00 AM 70 87 17 97 27 102 32 106 36 109 39 112 42 Sunny 3 10/08/10 11:00 AM 75 90 15 99 24 105 30 110 35 113 38 115 40 Sunny 4 10/14/10 4:00 PM 76 95 19 105 29 110 34 113 37 116 40 119 43 Sunny

Sunny Averages 85 104 19 113 28 118 33 122 37 125 40 127 42

Overall Averages 85 101 17 110 26 115 31 119 34 122 37 124 39

Averages without Rain Days 85 102 17 111 26 116 31 120 35 123 38 126 41



15

24

29

32

3638

11

18

2224 23 23

19

28

33

37

4042

17

26

31

34

3739

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

10 Min. Increase

20 Min. Increase

30 Min. Increase

40 Min. Increase

50 Min. Increase

60 Min. Increase

Tem

pera

ture

Ris

e in

Deg

rees

Far

enhe

it


Average Temperature RiseBy Weather Conditions

Cloudy Averages

Rainy Averages

Sunny Averages

Overall Averages


Appendix D – Hyperthermia Happens Questionnaire




Male, 74, 32%

Female, 157, 68%

Gender

Question 1: Gender

Gender Male Female Total 74 157 231



< 18, 9, 4%

18-22, 54, 23%

23-27, 96, 42%

28-32, 36, 16%

33-37, 15, 6%

38-42, 18, 8%

43-47, 3, 1%

Age of Parent

< 18

18-22

23-27

28-32

33-37

38-42

43-47

48-52

Question 2: Age

Age of Parent

< 18 18-22 23-27 28-32 33-37 38-42 43-47 48-52

9 54 96 36 15 18 3 0



1, 112, 28%

2, 168, 42%

3, 72, 18%

4, 32, 8%5, 15, 4%

# of Children

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Question 3: Number of Children

# of Children 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

112 84 24 8 3 0 0 0 Total Total

Children 112 168 72 32 15 0 0 0 399



<1, 61, 15%

1, 84, 21%

2, 78, 20%

3, 64, 16%

4, 31, 8%

5, 45, 11%

6-10, 27, 7% >10, 9, 2%

Ages of Children

<1

1

2

3

4

5

6-10

>10

Question 4: Ages of Children

Ages of Children <1 1 2 3 4 5 6-10 >10 61 84 78 64 31 45 27 9



67, 29%

164, 71%

# of Parents in Houshold

1

2

Question 5: Number of parents in home

# of Parents

in Household 1 2

67 164



Yes, 32, 14%

No, 182, 79%

Left Blank, 17, 7%

# of Parents That Have Inadvertently Left Children

Yes

No

Left Blank

Question 6: Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle?

Left Child Unattended Yes No Left Blank

32 182 17



1-4 min, 4, 12%

5-9 min, 10, 31%

10-14 min, 12, 38%

15-19 min, 4, 13%

20-24 min, 2, 6%

Time Left Unattended

1-4 min

5-9 min

10-14 min

15-19 min

20-24 min

25-29 min

30-60 min

> 60 min

Question 7: If YES to #6, For how long?

Time Left Unattended

1-4 min

5-9 min

10-14 min 15-19 min 20-24 min 25-29 min 30-60 min > 60 min

4 10 12 4 2 0 0 0



Question 8: Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle?

Is There A State Law? Yes No

158 73

Yes, 158, 68%

No, 73, 32%

Is There A State Law?

Yes

No



If yes to # 8: How long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation?

Time to Violation

of State Law 0-4 min

5-9 min

10-14 min 15-19 min 20-24 min 25-29 min 30-60 min > 60 min

26 94 34 4 0 0 0 0

0-4 min, 26, 16%

5-9 min, 94, 59%

10-14 min, 34, 22%

15-19 min, 4, 3%

Time to Violation of State Law

0-4 min

5-9 min

10-14 min

15-19 min

20-24 min

25-29 min

30-60 min

> 60 min


Appendix E – Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group Catalog

Appendix E – Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group Product Catalog

Gender: Age: Number of children: Age(s) of children: Number of parents in home: Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle? Yes No If yes, for how long: Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle? Yes No If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation?

0 min. 5 min. 10 min. 15 min. 20 min.

Hyperthermia Happens… When Kids are Left in Hot Cars

Questionnaire



Purpose The purpose of this focus group is:

• to evaluate the pros and cons of the following child safety products

• evaluate the price point of the product and how that price point would affect your buying decision

• evaluate the likelihood of you purchasing the product

• to gather your overall evaluation of the product.

Hyperthermia Happens… When Kids are Left in Hot Cars

Focus Group



in a crash when they got out of their car seat. The fact is that 42 kids have died this year alone from accidents of this nature. We knew we had to fix it! How it works. When you place a child in their car seat the monitor automatically turns on because it senses the weight of the child. Whenever the car stops, a lullaby will play, letting you know your child is secure in their car seat. It takes about 4 seconds after stopping for the lullaby to play, which is how long it takes you to stop your car, take the keys out of the ignition and start to open your door. The idea is that you hear the lullaby before you exit the car. This way, you don’t forget your child is in the car before exiting it. Also, if they get out of the car seat while your driving, beeps will sound to let you know your toddler is on the move. The Cars N Kids Car Seat Monitor. Aids in the prevention of injury or death of a child from not being restrained during a crash. Also aids in the prevention of a child being forgotten in a car. Best of all, this wonderful new product provides peace of mind to you the parent or caregiver that your child is secure in their car seat.

Web Site: http://www.carseatmonitor.com/ Price: 29.95

Video Demonstration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA0gVbYaIv0

What is a car seat monitor? You know that beep or bell you hear when you didn't put your seatbelt on or when you didn't turn your headlights off. That's what the car seat monitor is all about! Did you ever wonder why the back seat where your child sits, the most important person you will ever have in your car does not have that same protection? So did we! And that got us thinking! When our kids were little, I was always looking in the back seat; are they still there; did I forget to put them in the car or did they get out! We are all concerned parents and it’s really nerve racking when we can't see them in the back seat. Add to that the news reports of children inadvertently forgotten in cars or injured


http://www.carseatmonitor.com/�

http://www.carseatmonitor.com/�

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Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™

Pros: Cons: Price: Likelihood of Purchase: Likely Unlikely Effectiveness:




Product Description: The ChildMinder® Smart Clip System with Single-Unit Key Ring Alarm Unit is typically for households with only one child (ages 0-6 years) in a car safety seat. (An additional Single-Unit Key Ring Alarm Unit for an alternate caregiver can be purchased separately.) Click to Add: Item 005; $28.95 Never carry more than one key ring alarm unit, even when your needs require you to monitor more than one ChildMinder® Smart Clip System (for ages 0-6 years). The Multi-Unit Key Ring Alarm Unit can monitor up to three ChildMinder Smart Clip Systems. (An additional Multi-Unit Key Ring Alarm Unit for another caregiver may be purchased separately.) "Click to Add": Item 005-M; $35.95 The ChildMinder Smart Clip System should greatly reduce the opportunity for a child to be inadvertently left unattended in a motor vehicle while fastened in a child safety seat. The smart clip is deactivated upon unfastening.

1. The ChildMinder system performs a self-test upon each use to insure its proper functioning.

2. The ChildMinder system reminds the parent/caregiver with an alarm six seconds after the parent/caregiver has moved more than 15 feet from the child in the child safety seat.

3. The ChildMinder system even serves to remind the parent/caregiver of the child's presence even when the parent/caregiver has inadvertently forgotten the key ring until the smart clip is deactivated.

4. The ChildMinder system installation takes less than three minutes. Simply replace your child's safety seat chest clip with the ChildMinder system's smart clip and place the key ring alarm unit on your automotive key ring.

5. The ChildMinder system will not compromise the integrity your existing child safety seat.

Web Site: http://www.babyalert.info/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3 Price: $69.95 Single unit Multi-Child Systems $159.95 2-child $189.95 3-child

Video Demonstrations http://www.youtube.com/user/BabyAlert1#p/a/u/1/_XZ_h3jIMwM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XHEN2svEBw&feature=related


http://www.babyalert.info/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15&products_id=4�















Product Description:

The Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System is a passive child safety seat monitoring system comprised of the Smart Pad, system controller and a Key Ring Alarm Unit. This system functions the same as the Smart Clip. It is for premies, but may be used through the toddler years. (An additional Single-Unit Key Ring Alarm Unit for an alternate caregiver may be purchased separately.) "Click to Add": Item No. 005; $28.95

Never carry more than one key ring alarm unit, even when your needs require you to monitor more than one Infant-Toddler Smart Pad System. This system functions the same as the Smart Clip. It is for premies, but may be used through the toddler years. The Multi-Unit Key Ring Alarm Unit can monitor up to three Infant-Toddler Smart Pad Systems. (An additional Multi-Unit Key Ring Alarm Unit for another caregiver may be purchased separately.) "Click to Add": Item 005-M; $35.95

The Smart Pad should be placed between cushions or under the cushion of the child safety seat. Once the child is seated in the safety seat, the Smart Pad System passively monitors your child in his/her safety seat. Installation takes less than three minutes.

1. Place the Smart Pad between cushions or under the seat cushion of the child safety seat, and

2. Place the Key Ring alarm unit on your automotive key ring.

The Smart Pad System is activated when a child is seated in the child safety seat. An alarm sounds in six seconds after a parent or caregiver walks more than fifteen (15) feet from a vehicle while the child remains seated in the child safety seat. The Smart Pad System will significantly reduce that one in a hundred thousand chance that your child maybe inadvertently left unattended in a motor vehicle while seated in their child safety seat.

Web Site: http://www.babyalert.info/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=2 Price: $69.95 Single unit Multi-Child Systems $159.95 2-child $189.95 3-child

Video Demonstrations http://www.youtube.com/user/BabyAlert1#p/a/u/1/_XZ_h3jIMwM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XHEN2svEBw&feature=related

ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System











ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System



The tag is then clipped to the parent or caregivers key ring when their child is placed in the car.

As you can see, the Baby Bee Safe™ tag is so large that when you remove your keys from the ignition you can't place the keys in a pocket or purse without noticing it. It serves as a visual and tactile reminder that your child is in the car. Seeing this reminder, you remove your child from their seat and replace the Baby Bee Safe™ on the child's empty car seat.


Our patent pending system:

• is easy to use • is portable between any

caregiver's vehicles • does not rely on electronics

technologies which could fail

• is affordable to everyone

We came up with the idea of a large tag that is attached to the child's car seat when it is unoccupied.

Web Site: http://www.babybeesafe.net/wst_page4.html Price: $4.99

Baby Bee Sa fe™ can

a l so be cus tomized wi th

you r o rgan i za t i on ' s l ogo !


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Stuffed Animal in Car Seat Place a stuffed animal in the car seat. When the child is placed in the car seat, place the stuffed animal in the front seat with the driver to serve as a visual reminder that the child is in the car.

Price: Cost of Stuffed Animal.

Stuffed Animal in Car Seat



Stuffed Animal in Car Seat



Appendix F – Hyperthermia Happens Focus Group Results


Participant #1 Gender: Female Age: 24 Number of children: 2 Age(s) of children: 3, 14 months Number of parents in home: 2 Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle? No If yes, for how long: NA Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle? Yes If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation? 0 min

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ ----This participant tested this product---- • Pros: Good reminder, Pleasant music, Alarms to let you know the child got out of their car seat. • Cons: None • Price: Maybe a little high. $20.00 would be closer to what I might pay. After using it, I would buy it

at the store. • Likelihood of Purchase: Likely • Effectiveness: This music box constantly reminds you that the baby is in the car. It worked like the

package said it would. ChildMinder® Smart Clip System

• Pros: Easy to use, seems well built, not big and in the way. • Cons: Requires batteries, not sure about removing the clip that came with the seat, way too

expensive. • Price: Way too expensive. I would never buy this. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: This might work but I don’t need anything else on my key chain.

ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System • Pros: Same as the last one. • Cons: Requires batteries, too many buttons to push. • Price: Way too expensive. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It didn’t work during the first demo. I wonder how many times I might rely on it and

not have it work. For the money it should work every time. Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System

• Pros: Simple. • Cons: None really. • Price: It’s just 5 bucks, I might buy it. • Likelihood of Purchase: Likely • Effectiveness: Seems like a pretty simple Idea. I’m not sure why I couldn’t make one when I go

home. Stuffed Animal in Car Seat

• Pros: Simple Idea • Cons: None • Price: Free is good • Likelihood of Purchase: NA • Effectiveness: This would probably work. I like it better than a tag for my keys.

All things considered, which product would you most likely recommend to your friends and family to prevent their children from being inadvertently left in a vehicle? The Teddy Bear



Participant #2 Gender: Male Age: 23 Number of children: 2 Age(s) of children: 3, 14 months Number of parents in home: 2 Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle? No If yes, for how long: NA Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle? Yes If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation? 5 min.

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ ----This participant tested this product---- • Pros: Definitely reminds you, alarms when kids escape, easy to install. • Cons: Annoying music at every stop light. • Price: Kinda high. I’m not sure what I would be willing to pay if I was going to buy it. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It does what it is designed to do. I just don’t want to listen to that annoying music

every time I stop the car. ChildMinder® Smart Clip System

• Pros: Great Idea, great use of technology. • Cons: I don’t like the idea of removing the clip that came with the seat. What if I have a wreck and

have altered the seat. What is my liability? • Price: TOO HIGH. WiFi prices are way down, why is this so expensive? • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It looks like it would work great. I like the way it didn’t make noise until you got out

of range. ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System

• Pros: I like the use of WiFi. Much better idea than removing the factory chest clip. • Cons: It didn’t work in the demo. • Price: TOO HIGH. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: I’m not sure what went wrong in the demo. Maybe the pad thing needed to be closer

to the front of the seat. Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System

• Pros: Easy to use • Cons: Looks stupid. • Price: Too much for a piece of cardboard with a baby toy attached. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It probably works but I could put a teething ring on the car seat and accomplish the

same thing. Stuffed Animal in Car Seat

• Pros: Free • Cons: None • Price: NA • Likelihood of Purchase: NA • Effectiveness: It would probably work.




Participant #3 Gender: Male Age: 31 Number of children: 2 Age(s) of children: 7, 2 Number of parents in home: 2 Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle? No If yes, for how long: NA Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle? No If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation?

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ • Pros: Easy to install, easy to use. • Cons: It would get old quick. • Price: Too much, but I probably wouldn’t buy it at any price. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It would keep you aware of the kid in the car but you might want to throw the music

thing out the window after a while. ChildMinder® Smart Clip System

• Pros: I like the idea, I’m not sure that I like the product. I don’t know why. • Cons: I can’t really think of anything. • Price: It seems very costly. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It seemed to work just fine. I just don’t like it for some reason. (This answer was

followed up on but no clarification was obtained.) ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System ----This participant tested this product----

• Pros: This seems like a better system than the last one. I like the use of wireless. • Cons: None really. • Price: Still very expensive. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: My wife couldn’t make it work until the seat pad was adjusted. After that it was fine

except one time when the pad thing got moved and needed to be adjusted again. Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System

• Pros: It would remind you. It can be customized. Might make a good give away at a health and safety fair.

• Cons: I don’t like the way it looks. • Price: If you buy these in bulk they should be much cheaper. • Likelihood of Purchase: Maybe to give away. Would probably have them printed myself. • Effectiveness: It would probably work but I don’t think anyone would really use it.

Stuffed Animal in Car Seat • Pros: Everyone has an extra teddy bear. • Cons: NA • Price: NA • Likelihood of Purchase: NA • Effectiveness: I like it.




Participant #4 Gender: Female Age: 26 Number of children: 2 Age(s) of children: 7, 2 Number of parents in home: 2 Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle? Yes If yes, for how long: 2 minutes Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle? Yes If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation? 20 min.

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ • Pros: It’s pretty simple. • Cons: It could play different tunes so they wouldn’t get old. The music might wake the baby up. • Price: It’s too expensive. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: I don’t really like it very much.

ChildMinder® Smart Clip System • Pros: It’s pretty good. • Cons: I don’t understand how it works. • Price: WOW. Who would pay that much? • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: I’ll never know if it works, who would pay that much?

ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System ----This participant tested this product---- • Pros: It’s better than the other one. • Cons: The buttons are confusing. • Price: Still WOW. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It was hard to put together. Sometimes it didn’t work but usually it did. For this much

money it should probably include installation. Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System

• Pros: I like it. I think the bee holding a flower is cute. • Cons: Nothing • Price: It’s good. • Likelihood of Purchase: Likely • Effectiveness: This would remind me to get the baby and I wouldn’t lose my keys. (This answer was

followed up on and the participant was reminded that the tag was to be left on the car seat when it wasn’t occupied and only placed on the key ring when the baby was in the car seat.) The participant replied, “I think it would be good for both things.”

Stuffed Animal in Car Seat • Pros: I like the teddy bear idea. • Cons: Nothing • Price: Nothing • Likelihood of Purchase: Already got one. • Effectiveness: I could put a teddy bear in the seat and carry the tag thing on my keys.




Participant #5 Gender: Female Age: 24 Number of children: 1 Age(s) of children: 4 Number of parents in home: 1 Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle? No If yes, for how long: NA Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle? Yes If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation? 5 min.

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ • Pros: Easy to install. Easy to use. Easy to listen to. • Cons: NA • Price: May be priced about $10 too high. I would probably still buy it but I’d try to find it on the

internet cheaper. • Likelihood of Purchase: Likely • Effectiveness: I liked this idea a lot. It seemed to work and wasn’t going to let you forget about

having the baby in the car with you. It also will alert me when (child’s name) gets out of her seat. ChildMinder® Smart Clip System

• Pros: It’s high tech, it is pretty cool. • Cons: I don’t really trust technology. • Price: I couldn’t afford it. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It’ll probably work until the batteries run out. I wouldn’t want to try to use it.

ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System • Pros: Same as the last one. • Cons: Same as the last one. • Price: Same as the last one. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: Same as the last one.

Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System • Pros: It’s pretty basic. • Cons: it’s kind of cheesy! • Price: I’ve wasted 5 dollars on worse things. I might not buy this. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: I think it would make me look stupid. I wouldn’t want a big tag hanging around that

said “Hey, don’t forget that your kid is in the car!” Stuffed Animal in Car Seat ----This participant tested this product----

• Pros: I already have teddy bears. • Cons: NA • Price: NA • Likelihood of Purchase: NA • Effectiveness: I already had a teddy bear and put it in the car seat without anyone knowing why it

was there. They just thought it was something for (child’s name) to play with. I did get distracted on the way to work a couple of times and the teddy bear did get my attention. I don’t think that I would have left (child’s name) in the car though.




Participant #6 Gender: Female Age: 26 Number of children: 1 Age(s) of children: 3 Number of parents in home: 1 Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle? No If yes, for how long: NA Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle? Yes If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation? 5 min.

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ • Pros: Everything about it is simple. • Cons: The music might get old. • Price: It’s OK. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: I don’t think it would be possible to forget your kid was with you.

ChildMinder® Smart Clip System • Pros: It seems easy enough to use. • Cons: It should come with the car seat. I don’t think you should be changing out parts. • Price: It is extremely expensive. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It would most likely alert you. It seemed to work pretty well. You couldn’t walk very

far before the alarm went off. ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System

Pros: It seems easy enough to use. Cons: It should come with the car seat. I don’t think you should be changing out parts. Price: It is extremely expensive. Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely Effectiveness: It would most likely alert you. It seemed to work pretty well. You couldn’t walk very far

before the alarm went off. This is the same product as the last one with a different on switch. Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System ----This participant tested this product----

• Pros: It is easy to use. It is BIG. • Cons: It is BIG. • Price: It’s OK. I’d buy it. • Likelihood of Purchase: Likely • Effectiveness: It worked great. The clip was a little stiff when I first started using it but it seemed to

loosen up. I didn’t like the big tag hanging down and hitting me in the leg when I was driving. I quit using it because that got annoying.

Stuffed Animal in Car Seat • Pros: This is a good idea. • Cons: None • Price: None • Likelihood of Purchase: NA • Effectiveness: I like this Idea. I think it would work. I like that it would sit in the seat and not hit you

in the leg while you are trying to drive. All things considered, which product would you most likely recommend to your friends and family to prevent

their children from being inadvertently left in a vehicle? The Teddy Bear



Participant #7 Gender: Female Age: 23 Number of children: 1 Age(s) of children: 2 Number of parents in home: 2 Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle? No If yes, for how long: NA Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle?

No – But it’s a bad idea. If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation?

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ • Pros: It looks easy to use. • Cons: I wouldn’t want to hear it all of the time. • Price: Too high. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: I don’t think I would be able to use it for very long.

ChildMinder® Smart Clip System ----This participant tested this product---- • Pros: Positive use of technology. • Cons: Some people think that it’s a big deal that it didn’t come with the safety seat but I don’t. • Price: Very high. I wouldn’t spend this much. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It worked every time. I didn’t like the process to turn it on at first but it really isn’t all

that different from pushing the buttons to lock or unlock the car. It’s a good product it’s just priced way out of a reasonable range.

ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System • Pros: It seems to be the same as the clip. You don’t have to change out any factory parts. • Cons: None • Price: Same as the clip. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: I think this would work the same as the clip.

Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System • Pros: It’s cheap. • Cons: IDK • Price: It’s not expensive but I wouldn’t buy it. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It would probably work as a reminder if you actually put it on your key chain. I don’t

think I would do that. Stuffed Animal in Car Seat

• Pros: What a great idea. • Cons: None • Price: None • Likelihood of Purchase: NA • Effectiveness: Everyone has a cute little teddy bear that they could drive around with. This would

probably work. All things considered, which product would you most likely recommend to your friends and family to prevent

their children from being inadvertently left in a vehicle? The Teddy Bear



Participant #8 Gender: Male Age: 23 Number of children: 1 Age(s) of children: 2 Number of parents in home: 2 Have you ever inadvertently left your child unattended in a vehicle?

Yes – Don’t tell my wife!!! If yes, for how long: 20 minutes Is it against the law in the State of Texas to leave your child unattended in a vehicle? No If yes, how long can the child remain unattended before there is a violation?

Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor™ • Pros: It looks easy to use. • Cons: I don’t like the music. It sounds like a toy you would buy for someone else’s kids. • Price: Too much money. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: I wouldn’t have one in my car.

ChildMinder® Smart Clip System ----This participant tested this product---- • Pros: Good use of wireless technology. • Cons: Not really any. • Price: The price is ridiculous. There’s not enough here to cost that much. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: It worked just like it was supposed to. I left our child in the car on purpose a couple of

times just to test it out. I could only get about 15 or 20 feet away from the car before it would go off. If it was cheaper I’d buy it.

ChildMinder® Infant - Toddler Smart Pad System • Pros: It looks just like the clip system. • Cons: None • Price: Just as bad as the clip system. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: Probably the same as the clip system but needs a better price.

Baby Bee Safe™ Child in Car Reminder System • Pros: None • Cons: It looks pretty stupid. • Price: Any price would be too high. • Likelihood of Purchase: Unlikely • Effectiveness: This is the same as tying a string around your finger. String is pretty cheap.

Stuffed Animal in Car Seat • Pros: This would probably work. It doesn’t telegraph intent. (This answer was followed up on with

the following explanation) It doesn’t, on the surface, tell people that you are afraid of leaving your kid in the car.

• Cons: (Answer left blank) • Price: (Answer left blank) • Likelihood of Purchase: (Answer left blank) • Effectiveness: This would probably work.

All things considered, which product would you most likely recommend to your friends and family to prevent their children from being inadvertently left in a vehicle? The Teddy Bear.

Documents

Hyperthermia Happens… When Children are Left in Hot