2 more additional hot car deaths

[mlmooney89]

Chances are, if you're on the phone or otherwise distracted when the kids are put in the car - that can spell disaster. Especially if the kids are old enough to buckle themselves in. Personally, I wouldn't allow my own kids to buckle themselves in, even if they could do it. I needed to check the straps every single time and make sure the buckles actually "clicked" in place.

People need to make it a habit of looking in the back seat of their vehicle, EVERY TIME - whether they have the kids with them or not. It's a good practice to get into. Not to mention cars have always come equipped with a rear view mirror. How do you drive and never look into that? Obviously, if you're looking into it, you can clearly see into the back seat so you'd KNOW the kids are there.

Shit... are people just not paying attention anymore to their surroundings? Is hurrying up and getting to one's destination so important that they can't be bothered to look behind them once in a while?

I dunno about y'alls vehicles but when I drive my truck and I have my rear view mirror adjusted as it should be so that I can drive I can't see what is sitting on my back seat. In order to see my dog when he is back there I have to move the mirror. I do get the whole distracted while getting them into the seats though.

****

I do know that working at a daycare we all had to take the driving class regardless of if we drove or was on the bus at all. We had to have two people check the bus every time it went out due to how many kids had been left on buses in Texas alone. In this class you had to watch videos of parents crying while they told their story of how they forgot their kid in the car. Most were off routine; the kid's daycare/school wasn't being held so when the parent dropped off the other parent they were on auto pilot. A Dad did that and left his kid in the car for two hours before it dawned on him. It was too late by then and I have never seen a man in so much pain when he told that story.