Happy Independence Day! Enjoy yourself and remember children are always at play!
We all have BBQ's to go to. Beer to drink. Pools to splash in before we rush out to the next 4th of July party.
Sparklers, fireworks, get out of the parking place... Hurry up! Back up the car ...THUD!
You have just run over a child!
You did not know that a child was behind the car.
- The fact is that 10% of child/ vehicle deaths happen in a parking lot or a driveway.
- Nearly 1/2 of the 25,000 children 1 to 14 that are admitted to the ER for car related injuries are between the ages of 1 to 4.
- According to Safe Kids USA 229 kids will die each year from being struck by a car in a drive way or parking lot. This can be prevented by taken some safety measures a simple as walking around your car before you start up and back out. Look twice.
- Many times a child is accidentally run over by a relative or friend of the family.
Have you ever know the Fourth of July to not be HOT?
Families are in a rush to have fun. The routines are totally out of kilter. The little one falls asleep in the car. Some one forgets the tot who is strapped in the car seat for safety. It is only 10 minutes to run into the store, any way, to buy more ice. Baby is roasted to death. (Sorry about the crudeness, I want to make a point.)
- At 80 degrees outside the inside of the car will turn to 100 degrees in only 10 minutes, the time it takes to run inside the 7/11.
- Please do not do this to your dog either. Do remember that children and dogs can accidentally roll up the automatic car windows making the car hotter or entrap themselves between the window and door frame.
A few weeks ago I put the service dog in the car, rolled down the windows to cool it off and just in case I locked the the doors. I started the engine and air conditioner while I put my walker in the back seat.
- OOPS! the dog put his paw on the window roll up button and hit the locks just as I slammed the back door shut. He got rescued in 15 minutes because as a service dog he had priority.
- A small child does not have a mature temperature regulating system that an adult does. When they have a fever, they get a whopper of a fever for the same reason. At 104 degrees the organs shut down. At 107 degrees death occurs.
- Before the days of seat belt laws I knew of a child left in a running car while the driver went into a store. The child moved the gear shift. When the car started rolling the child got scared. She opened the car door to escape the moving car and got pinned under a tire. She had multiple body casts and surgeries for year. Does that you think twice about leaving kids alone in the car?
Trunk Entrapment
Kids are always at play. When families have a big picnic in the park with lots of friends and family some kids will suggest Hide and Go Seek. That game sounds harmless enough? Am I right?
- Kids are very creative in their play. Some cars do not need a key to access the trunk. My cars have had a pop up button. Other cars if you just pull the back seat out a bit a small body can crawl into the trunk where no one can find him. How long do you think it would take for a partying adult to find a child's body in the trunk of the car? I have no idea.
Prevention
- Teach your children that a car is not a toy to be played around inside or outside.
- Teach your child to touch the side of the car when exiting until you can take his/her hand. (Be careful the metal on the car can burn.)
- Teach you children to never ever run alone in the parking lot. Always hold on to some one taller. Let them know that drivers can not see a smaller person. They may be too busy looking at the mirrors or all the light gizmos instead of watching for small children. Not holding hands in the parking lot is never a choice.
- Practice watching for tail lights. Get the kids involved in looking at the turn signals and such on cars.
I hope that I have presented you with enough information to increase your awareness about child and car safety. Please be aware of the fact that you may know all of this information, but...
- Your spouse, you parents, your friend may not be remotely aware of the dangers of a car and your precious children. Please take the time to ruffle a few feathers, maybe, by politely educating everyone who may drive their car in your driveway.
- During the holiday rush and hub bub adults get distracted...THUD! another accidental death or life sentence injury.
This is Malika Bourne the No Non-cents Nanna saying, "Make good choices."
Credits and additional links.
Disclaimer: I have researched this subject with care. to keep my post short and to the point as much as possible I have not included every type of danger possible. Please research more on your own if you drive a vehicle. You do not have to have any children or pets to take responsibility to save lives when using your car or truck. You and you alone are responsible for you actions. Make the change NOW to drive safely. You may be saving a child's life.