This is a must read for every parent as well as everyone out there that doesn't think it could ever happen to them, parent or not.


http://m.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/fatal-distraction-forgetting-a-child-in-thebackseat-of-a-car-is-a-horrifying-mistake-is-it-a-crime/2014/06/16/8ae0fe3a-f580-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html

6/23/2014 11:28:51 AM

That's it. I'm working from home from here on out.

Good article, but I wish I hadn't read it.

6/23/2014 1:12:36 PM

Who ordered the steamed baked gentile?

6/23/2014 1:26:40 PM

do cars with side curtain airbags have weight sensors under the backseats?

6/23/2014 2:07:02 PM

Ugly cry from reading that article.

6/23/2014 2:17:29 PM

There is a wire that goes up into the backseat cushion, and at least for our Jeep, I can only guess as to its reason for being there, but a weight sensor would make sense.

We keep our daughter in the middle though, so it shouldn't trip them.

I would think that more infants'/kids' lives have been saved by the mandate than those lost to heat/cold exposure from parents forgetting. For anyone that didn't read the article, it said that incidents like this happen 15-25 times a year:

Quote :

"When it happens to young children, the facts are often the same: An otherwise loving and attentive parent one day gets busy, or distracted, or upset, or confused by a change in his or her daily routine, and just... forgets a child is in the car. It happens that way somewhere in the United States 15 to 25 times a year, parceled out through the spring, summer and early fall. The season is almost upon us. Two decades ago, this was relatively rare. But in the early 1990s, car-safety experts declared that passenger-side front airbags could kill children, and they recommended that child seats be moved to the back of the car; then, for even more safety for the very young, that the baby seats be pivoted to face the rear. "

6/23/2014 2:18:48 PM

15-25 incidents a year is not that much....

there is technology around for skin touch alcohol sensors, potentially that could save thousands of lives if it were embedded in the steering wheel, not gonna happen though

6/23/2014 2:36:21 PM

not many would buy a car for skin touch alcohol sensors, but plenty of parents might choose a car with a "child in back seat" reminder

i don't think it should be legislated, but if I was an automaker I would investigate the demand and might include a reminder on cars i market to parents.

6/23/2014 2:41:54 PM

^rare occasion i agree with this cat.

6/23/2014 2:43:51 PM

nm

[Edited on June 23, 2014 at 7:03 PM. Reason : j]

6/23/2014 6:59:24 PM

There are probably cases where people catch themselves and don't get reported.

An "occupancy sensor" on the dash could have multiple uses though, wouldn't be a bad addition.

6/23/2014 7:26:39 PM

I used to make the drive from Raleigh to Charlotte quite a bit when I was in school. Most times I'd leave Friday night, and there are some fairly long stretches on hwy 49 that are kinda dark. I would always imagine looking up in my rearview and seeing someone I didn't recognize in the backseat.

I wonder if an occupant sensor would work in that scenario.

6/23/2014 9:53:10 PM

A simple seat belt sensor would work. If there is a seat belt buckled in the back when the car turns off it could give a warning.

6/23/2014 10:09:46 PM

most car seats these days do not utilize the seat belt...

6/23/2014 10:27:43 PM

Dang you're right. I forgot the ones with a base don't use them. It's been awhile since we used a base.

[Edited on June 23, 2014 at 10:31 PM. Reason : .]

6/23/2014 10:30:30 PM

Pretty much all car seats have the buckles than clip on the bars inside the seats.

6/23/2014 11:29:58 PM

I'm a pretty cool cat, but

Quote :

"I would always imagine looking up in my rearview and seeing someone I didn't recognize in the backseat."

makes me . That's going to slightly bother me for, I dunno, possibly the rest of my life.

6/23/2014 11:50:51 PM

how do you not look in the back seat doe

he deserves whatever punishment he gets

ok maybe not

I don't really care, TBH

cya :3

6/23/2014 11:57:07 PM

^^^The two we have and the two our parents have all use a seat belt so that is why I had it on the brain

[Edited on June 24, 2014 at 12:01 AM. Reason : .]

6/24/2014 12:01:05 AM

Our infant seat is mounted in the center and he seat inspector made us use the belt because the latch system would cause a slight amount of stretch in either direction and that is apparently unsafe.

6/24/2014 8:20:02 AM

Don't commit the crime if you can't do the time!

</mouthbreathing prohibitionists>

6/24/2014 8:25:21 AM

I haven't read the article, yet, so maybe the dad's story is fishy and maybe it isn't.

With all that said, this could have easily happened to me as a child. My father has always been a very nurturing father and very involved in my life. Every morning he was responsible for taking me to daycare but at least once a week he'd pass by it, get on the interstate and start driving to work until I would speak up. At which point, he'd freak out, turn around and take me to daycare.

In those days, mid 1980s I was sitting in the front, on his briefcase, and just a few inches from him in his small cab GMC S-10. I was able to slip his mind then and I'm certain with regulations forcing toddlers to the back seat he'd have forgotten me for sure, especially if I were asleep.

My dad and I share a lot of similarities, so I could see myself doing the same thing. This scares the shit out of me.

6/24/2014 9:50:19 AM

I left the house with my six month old still asleep in his crib. I just did make it out of the neighborhood before I realized the back seat was empty. But that moment of horror is indescribable. My son was still sleeping and never knew a thing, but I understand how things happen to parents under stress. Psychologically, I was in a very bad place at the time and this incident was the catalyst for me to get help. I was lucky. Not everyone is so lucky.

6/24/2014 11:18:16 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/26/justice/georgia-toddler-death/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

6/26/2014 10:37:59 PM

^LOL, that's awesome. If anybody ever deserved the death penalty, it's him.

But, seriously, that gets at the real issue here. It seems to me that, if you accidentally murder kill your child, you'd probably want to sit in prison for a while. And that's kinda our thing...finding ways to make people sit in prison. So...?

And, if you did it on purpose, because you were too pathetic to do it properly, then you're the absolute worst--worse than 98% of the criminals we got locked up right now. Desperate/lunatic mothers have been drowning/bludgeoning their babies to death for centuries. Comparatively, cooking your kids to death in a locked car is...I don't even know...I like to exaggerate, and I think I exaggerated myself out of the proper word here.

[Edited on June 26, 2014 at 11:18 PM. Reason : ?]

6/26/2014 11:08:26 PM

you sarcasm brings th elol

6/26/2014 11:40:04 PM

6/26/2014 11:55:28 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/27/justice/georgia-toddler-death-duplicate-2/

the media got a present today:

Quote :

"As investigators in Georgia looked into the death of a 22-month-old boy left seven hours in a sweltering SUV, they seized computers from the father's office, a source with knowledge of the investigation told HLN's Nancy Grace. The officers found something startling: an Internet search for "how long does it take for an animal to die in a hot car," the source said."

[Edited on June 27, 2014 at 9:37 AM. Reason : oops, i see this was already posted]

6/27/2014 9:24:14 AM

Every idiot in every office everywhere throughout all of human history has engaged in the stupid fucking argument about how long it's acceptable to leave a dog in a car. That's right up there with "Would you still work here if you won the lottery?" and F-M-K in the pantheon of idiot fuckface office chat.

6/27/2014 9:33:56 AM

^i can't tell if you're serious. I have never argued about that with anyone, nor have I ever left my dog in a car for longer than maybe 5 minutes (mostly for fear of him being stolen because he was just so fucking handsome)

6/27/2014 11:22:52 AM

i could have sworn that on this very message board I've seen a multi-page thread about if its okay to leave a pet in your car, it may have even been about children.

6/27/2014 11:25:24 AM

surely there's an app for this where your hot glue a bluetooth transmitter to your dumb fucking kid and it yells at you if you disconnect from him outside of certain places

if not, no one steal my idea ok

6/27/2014 11:28:55 AM

alert: youre a terrible parent and may have left your child in a hot car (or please check the batteries in your child's bluetooth transmitter)

[Edited on June 27, 2014 at 11:42 AM. Reason : b]

6/27/2014 11:34:11 AM

^^^there is somewhere. it's fairly recent too.

6/27/2014 11:39:16 AM

I saw somethng like that as well. The kid wear a bracelet and the parent has a receiver.

6/27/2014 12:56:22 PM

Nobody posting in this thread better make this mistake. Investigators will point to it and say "see, they planned it"

6/27/2014 1:23:29 PM

Leaving Dogs in Cars
message_topic.aspx?topic=638035

6/27/2014 1:26:06 PM

Riding in Cars With Boys
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200027/

6/27/2014 2:45:21 PM

Why is it that this case in particular has gotten so much attention? I know now it's getting talked about because it's being investigated as intentional, but it was all over the news and Facebook before that causing people to cry out about the need for safety sensors and whatnot. But this does happen reasonably often.

Slow news day?

6/27/2014 4:15:25 PM

Quote :

"^i can't tell if you're serious. I have never argued about that with anyone, nor have I ever left my dog in a car for longer than maybe 5 minutes (mostly for fear of him being stolen because he was just so fucking handsome)"

There is a thread on TWW about that, that I have posted in, luckily I don't have a baby to accidentally forget in a car or I would be automatically guilty...especially if Boz was the prosecutor.

6/27/2014 5:52:03 PM

Quote :

"^i can't tell if you're serious. I have never argued about that with anyone, nor have I ever left my dog in a car for longer than maybe 5 minutes (mostly for fear of him being stolen because he was just so fucking handsome)"

There is a thread on TWW about that, that I have posted in, luckily I don't have a baby to accidentally forget in a car or I would be automatically guilty...especially if Boz was the prosecutor.

6/27/2014 5:52:03 PM

Quote :

"There is a thread on TWW about that, that I have posted in, luckily I don't have a baby to accidentally forget in a car or I would be automatically guilty...especially if Boz was the prosecutor. "

6/27/2014 6:22:37 PM

^^^^I think it's because we've gotten to the point where there are tons of safety features on cars (and in everyday life) now. People are beginning to wonder more seriously if there's something we can do about this. We've got stuff for everything else.

6/27/2014 6:23:39 PM

Quote :

"Why is it that this case in particular has gotten so much attention? I know now it's getting talked about because it's being investigated as intentional, but it was all over the news and Facebook before that causing people to cry out about the need for safety sensors and whatnot. But this does happen reasonably often. "

It has gotten this much attention because it does happen reasonably often and the parents usually aren't charged with murder. If you believe it was accidental it begs the question of whether the prosecutors are seeking justice or revenge and what the real purpose of our legal system is. The article elise posted at the top of the page has some relevant information:

Quote :

"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. Last year it happened three times in one day, the worst day so far in the worst year so far in a phenomenon that gives no sign of abating."

Quote :

"As it happens, just five days before Miles Harrison forgot his toddler son in the parking lot of the Herndon corporate-relocation business where he worked, a similar event had occurred a few hundred miles southeast. After a long shift at work, a Portsmouth, Va., sanitation department electrician named Andrew Culpepper picked up his toddler son from his parents, drove home, went into the house and then fell asleep, forgetting he’d had the boy in the car, leaving him to bake to death outside his home. Harrison was charged with a crime. Culpepper was not. In each case, the decision fell to one person. With Harrison, it was Ray Morrogh, the Fairfax commonwealth’s attorney. "

6/27/2014 10:56:14 PM

One internet search would not be enough to have the guy in Ga. in jail without bond. They are not letting much information out but apparently they have enough evidence that it was intentional to convince a judge to uphold the charges and lock him up without bond. Of course, there are probably people who would put a bullet in him if he was released.

6/28/2014 8:42:43 PM

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/03/hot-suv-child-death/12126171/l

Quote :

"MARIETTA, Ga. — A Georgia man charged with murder in his 22-month-old son's death was sexting with several women on the day of his son's death and that he had two life insurance policies on his son, a detective testified Thursday. During a probable cause hearing in Cobb County Magistrate Court for Justin Ross Harris, Cobb County Police Detective Phil Stoddard said Harris, who is charged with murder and child cruelty in the June 18 death of his young son, Cooper, intentionally left his son in the car. Stoddard testified the two life insurance policies on Cooper were for $2,000 and $25,000. The detective also testified that Harris had accessed websites advocating "child free" and searched "how to survive prison" before Cooper died]/b]. After stopping at Chick-fil-A for breakfast that morning, Harris placed Cooper into rear-facing car seat a little after 9 a.m. Harris was supposed to take his son to daycare, but instead Harris went straight to work. Cooper died after being left in the car for more than seven hours while Harris was at work. Harris claims he simply forgot his child was in the back seat. Autopsy results showed Cooper died of hyperthermia, and that the investigation "suggests the manner of death is homicide," the Cobb County Police Department said. Stoddard said that when Harris stopped on his way to a 5 p.m. movie, he pulled over and took Cooper out of the car. Stoddard said Cooper was dead when his father pulled him from the back seat. [b]The detective testified that when he told Harris he was being charged with murder, Harris said, "there was no malicious intent." Stoddard said he believes Harris should remain in jail because "he's a flight risk." The detective said there was evidence of a double life, Harris had family in Alabama and that Harris had said he had law enforcement experience. Warrants released over the weekend showed both Harris and his wife, Leanna, conducted Internet searches about hot car deaths and "how it occurs." The warrants did not include details about when the online searches occurred, or under what context. Those details could come out during Thursday's hearing."

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/07/watch_todays_court_hearing_for.html

[Edited on July 3, 2014 at 3:28 PM. Reason : ..]

7/3/2014 3:22:07 PM

what a guy

7/3/2014 3:25:49 PM

Quote :

"stin Ross Harris messaged six women, sending and receiving explicit texts -- some including nude images -- from work while his 22-month-old was dying in a hot car, a detective testified Thursday in the father's hearing on murder and child cruelty charges. Harris' attorney repeatedly objected to Cobb County, Georgia, police Detective Phil Stoddard's testimony regarding Harris sexting the women -- one of whom was 17 -- but the judge allowed it because it was a probable cause hearing. ...Harris never called 911, and when an officer told him to get off his phone, he refused and even said, "F*** you" before an officer took his phone and handcuffed him, the detective said. ...The detective alleged that Harris told police he couldn't reach anyone on his telephone, but phone records show that Harris made three calls, and one between him and his employer lasted six minutes, Stoddard said."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/03/justice/georgia-hot-car-toddler-death/index.html

[Edited on July 3, 2014 at 3:34 PM. Reason : ]

7/3/2014 3:34:15 PM

That makes me ill.

7/3/2014 3:35:42 PM

This guy is the sickest fuck. I hope people in jail kill him quickly.

7/4/2014 12:18:14 PM