SBT Safety

Dead Wrong…

jtuerff — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:51:33 +0000

That is what you are if you think accidentally forgetting a childin a car is something that could never happen to you. Dead Wrong is what the parents were who believed they would never forget a child in a car…but did. Read this Pulitzer Prize winning article from Gene Weingarten. It is one of the best articles ever written on the parents who have made this horrific mistake. It clearly reveals that forgetting a child is a risk we all face and must take measures to prevent:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701549.html

Still a doubter? Think of it this way: If you own a home, you know your house will probably never burn to the ground, as the chances are so remote. Yet you wouldn’t dream of not insuring it against the possibility, because as rare of an event as it is, it can still happen and the cost would be devastating. Similarly, responsible parents probably won’t forget their child in a car but still need to insure themselves and their families against this risk, however remote it may be, because it can and does happen. And when it happens the cost is astronomical; the child’s life cannot be replaced.

For about the cost of a large cheeze pizza, families can insuren themselves against this risk by using the MyCue™ Streamer each and every time a child is being transported in a vehicle.

Child Passenger Safety High-Tech Solutions Unreliable

jtuerff — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:12:07 +0000

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just last week released the results of year-long study of several automated alarm systems designed to warn parents of a child left behind in a vehicle, and unfortunately found them to be unreliable. You can read more about the study at the following:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/products-designed-to-alert-parents-of-a-child-left-in-a-car-seat-found-to-be-unreliable/

Our position at SBT has always been that non-tech solutions are best. We believe that introducing yet another high-tech device in the driving environment is a bad idea because it adds another source of potential distraction, which could increase risk to both child and the parent caregiver. Non-tech solutions also keep responsibility where it belongs: with the parent!

Our MyCue™ Streamer is a unique non-tech solution that is completely integrated with the driver and caregiver experience. The parent removes the Streamer from the car seat and attaches the device to their keychain or smartkey fob when the child is placed in the vehicle. Once the destination has been reached, return the Streamer to the receiver on the car seat as the child is retrieved from the vehicle.

A commonly recommended driver reminder method that is less integrated and more passive is putting a teddy bear in the front passenger seat as a reminder whenever transporting a child. This method is used successfully by many people. However, should a parent become so distracted that they begin to step away from the vehicle with keys in hand in a moment of forgetfulness, the MyCue™ Streamer is still with the parent and able to remind them the child is still in the vehicle. On the contrary, the bear would be out of sight, still in the vehicle with the child, and no longer an effective reminder device.

Future products due for release later this year, like MyCue™ K-9 and MyCue™ Disc will all be driver / caregiver integrated, non-tech devices.

Forgotten Child/Infant Hyperthermia: How It Kills; Ending It

jtuerff — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:51:01 +0000

Unless you are a medical practitioner, you may not be familiar with the medical aspects of child heat stroke or child / infant hyperthermia. What happens to the human body of a child who is exposed to high temperatures?

The Daily News In Galveston, TX, recently printed an outstanding article by two professors of pediatrics on the dangers that heat in a car poses to a child or infant. Key points include:

A child’s or infant’s body is not able to handle heat like an adult body can
Leaving a window open won’t help a child – they still can’t handle the heat like a healthy adult can
A child can die in minutes left in a hot car

A child dying like this experiences a horrible and excruciating death. The authors point out that “Shock” sets in and “…the body’s blood pressure gets too low to pump oxygenated blood to all of the tissues in the body and cells in major organs, such as the:

Brain
Heart
Liver
and Kidneys

can die and the organs can be permanently damaged. ”

Read the entire article at:

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/318210

Don’t stop there: address the root cause that leads to children dying after being left in a car: common human forgetfullness. People who say, “It will never happen to me.” have become people who lose a child to this mistake and then decide to take extra precautions – after its been too late.

Except it: It’s a different world today. Full of distractions as never before. Forgotten child accidents happen to the best and brightest in our society after common distractions or change of routine.

Take the next step of acquiring a reminder device like the MyCue™ Streamer and use it evey time you carry a child passengers to help guard against accidentally forgetting a child in a car.

Child Left In Car Asleep

jtuerff — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 17:32:01 +0000

This is a follow up to my last post as we have another example of a parent leaving their child in a car. In this incident, the mom justified her decision to leave her child in a car so as not to wake him, and took precautions she felt were adequate to allow her to slip into a grocery store for just a few minutes.

http://wreg.com/2012/05/31/batesville-mother-charged-with-child-neglect/

Child endangerment laws prohibit leaving a child unattended. There have been several incidents across the U.S. in the past few weeks with otherwise caring and responsible moms not wanting to wake sleeping childen. So they lock the doors, crack the windows and leave their child (or children) in the car while they run into the store for a few minutes. They are getting caught and arrested and in most cases their children are taken from them.

We believe there is still a large segment of the population that just doesn’t know how dangerous it is to leave their child in a car alone for any length of time.

Don’t assume your friends, neighbors, o your grown children who are now beginning families of their own, or even your own spouse’s, understand the danger. Take time to share with everyone you know the dangers and the legal consequences of leaving children unattended in a vehicle.

Children Left In Hot Cars: Know The Dangers

jtuerff — Wed, 30 May 2012 17:01:16 +0000

Almost daily I’m reading news feeds about parents across the U.S. that have deliberately left their child in a hot car. There must still be a large segment of the population that does not understand the risk this poses to children.

This article from today’s Daily News in Galveston, TX, has one of the best medical descriptions to date of how heat in a car can injure and kill a child!

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/318210

These news feeds are showing up becuase these parents are getting caught leaving their kids in cars. You leave a child in a car unattended and you are inviting (in addition to the horror of potentially harming your child) a host of legal consequences for such an act.

You can help:

Don’t dangerously assume people you know just “know better” and won’t deliberately leave their child in a car.
Accept that there is at least a likelihood that there may be people in your circle of influence who have just never thought about this before and need to be informed.
Help spread the word and share the link with all your frends.

New NHTSA Campaign to Prevent Child Hyperthermia Death

jtuerff — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:01:09 +0000

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced an outstanding campaign to help bring awareness to the tragedy of children dying in car from hyperthermia and how to avoid it. The “Where’s Baby? Look Before You Lock” campaign will include new, compelling, audio public service announcements (PSAs) to raise awareness of the issue. We’ve included links to those PSA’s below:

http://www.safercar.gov/staticfiles/safercar/heatstroke/downloads/radio/WheresBaby_Female_MusicOpt1.mp3

http://www.safercar.gov/staticfiles/safercar/heatstroke/downloads/radio/WheresBaby_Male_MusicOpt1.mp3

Education and awareness campaigns like this one are necessary to ending forgotten as well as other kinds of child hyperthermia incidents. Adding a tangible driver reminder tool like MyCue™ Streamer to one’s daily travel routine creates an even stronger protection for children and families against these tragedies.

Child Forgotten In A Hot Car: How Could Someone Do This?!

jtuerff — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:38:22 +0000

Have you ever said that, asked or shouted that question - not because you were looking for information, but because you were making a statement; a statement condemning those who could do such a thing? If you have, you are not alone. But more and more people are starting to realize that it’s important to really ask the question and seek answers as to how this tragedy can occur to anyone – to responsible, capable and competent parents.

Read this Pulitzer Prize-winning article by Gene Weingarten on the subject published in 2009 in the Washington Post. I warn you though – it is a gripping read that can take an emotional toll. I was not able to finish it the first time through without stopping for a breath. Every parent or anyone who cares for children – and anyone who has ever asked, whispered or shouted out the question rhetorically or not, should read this story.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/03/04/DI2009030402198.html

The Origin of the Pilot Checklist

jtuerff — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 14:50:44 +0000

Just as our MyCue™ driver awareness device has been born out of the continuing tragedies surrounding children being forgotten and left in hot cars, the use of a checklist in aviation (from which MyCue™ was inspired) was also born out of tragedy: the 1935 accident of the Boeing 299 – the prototype of what would become the B-17.

Read the story of the origin of the pilot checklist at: http://www.atchistory.org/History/checklst.htm .

Hypothermia vs. Hyperthermia

jtuerff — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:37:49 +0000

People I speak with often ask, “Doesn’t Hyperthermia happen in cold weather?” So, let’s clear up the confusion over Hypo and Hyper-thermia. To help us remember which one is which, look at the prefixes. Hypo is a prefix meaning underneath or below (cold in this case). Hyper is a prefix meaning high or above (heat in this case). So, Hypothermia is over cooling of the body’s temperature – the body is not able to warm iteslf back up to normal body temperature because of exposure to cold. Hyperthermia is overheating of the body’s temperature – the body is unable to cool itself back down to normal levels due to its exposure to heat.

Child / Infant Hyperthermia Deaths In 2011

jtuerff — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:37:02 +0000

Prevention of forgotten child hyperthermia death in cars still needs to be a priority of parents and caregivers everywhere. The total number of hyperthermia deaths of children in cars in 2011 in the U.S. was down from 2010 – thank God – but still completely unacceptable. Read about the factors that lead to children being accidentally forgotten in cars here. Click the link below for data and statistics including a U.S. map showing locations of child hyperthermia deaths in cars in 2011. Keep in mind though this link does not include other injuries from hyperthermia, child rescues, parent caregiver arrests or reflect the number occurances of children accidentally forgotten in cars – which is far greater.

http://ggweather.com/heat/hyperthermia2011.htm