The senate panel is likely to approve a compromise bill which is aimed at improving the safety of children in and around automobiles. According to congressional aides and auto officials, the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to endorse a revised version of the Kid Transportation Safety Act of 2007, known as the "Kids and Cars" act.
The revised bill eliminate some mandates automakers opposed and requires the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to take a more aggressive role in reviewing safety enhancements for children in and around vehicles. It would require the NHTSA to review whether to mandate automakers install automatic-reversing windows.
Stricken off was a mandate that automakers suggested would force them to add cameras to the back of cars - something they opposed because of the cost and effectiveness. Automakers and the NHTSA contended such cameras are not ready for widespread use. The revised measure also would mandate that automakers add brake-shift interlock systems, which require a driver to engage the brake before shifting a vehicle into gear. The said auto addition would decrease the risk of a child accidentally putting a car in motion.
The new bill has won the tentative support of automakers. "This bill addresses the emotional issue of child auto safety with sound science," said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group that represents the General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler, the Toyota Motor Corp. and others. "Our initial read is it is good policy and good for children."
Mike Stanton, the president of the Association of International Automakers, which represents foreign auto companies, said that his members support the bill. "It's not as prescriptive as the previous bill," Stanton said. He said the bill was "reasonable," noting automakers are "doing some of the things already."
Among the safety enhancements the government agency would be required to consider are automatic reversing windows, which "prevent children from being trapped, injured or killed." The agency must make a decision in a period of 30 months. If the agency declines to require such windows, it would have to explain its decision to Congress. It could be recalled that in December, a 3-year-old girl was killed in a Pontiac Vibe in Detroit when she was caught in a window that rolled up and strangled her.
The original version of the bill, known as the Cameron Gulbransen Kids and Cars Safety Act, was proposed by U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John Sununu, R-N.H. and it is named after a two-year-old New York boy who was accidentally run over and killed in 2002 when his father backed his SUV out of his driveway.
"Nearly every other day, a child dies in the United States from a completely preventable tragedy - backed over by a driver who could not see behind (the) vehicle, strangled in a power window or killed when an automobile inadvertently shifts into gear," said Clinton on the Senate floor. The bill "will help to ensure that America's cars (are) properly equipped to prevent these tragedies from happening."
In November 2005, an identical auto safety bill was proposed. Unfortunately, it was not approved into law. Parents and critics alike agree to the idea that such bill is indispensable in today's time.
"If automakers can add heated seats and chilled cupholders then they can afford to save kids' lives," said Janette E. Fennell, the founder and president of the advocacy group Kids and Cars, who has spearheaded the effort to force automakers to make more safety features standard and will be at today's announcement.
"The answer is not, 'Let's just keep blaming the parents,'" stressed Former New Hampshire State Rep. Packy Campbell. "These safety groups aren't asking for a hell of a lot. I agree you can't protect from every possible danger, but these are common-sense, cost-effective solutions."
According to statistics, every other day a young child is killed in a non-traffic automobile incident. The age of victims in these cases is usually less than four years old. These tragedies are truly heart-wrenching - but also are deemed preventable.
This revised 'Kids and Cars' act addresses the leading causes of these pointless deaths and injuries by directing the Secretary of Transportation to mandate safety standards and take other action to slash the incidence of child injury and death inside or outside of parked passenger motor vehicles. Just as the interior of the cars are cosseted by , car occupants especially the children must be protected at all costs.
