Alerts for Occupant's Safety? HOW MANY Are Sufficient?
If, when interior reaches a certain temperature, a car’s system is designed to ---
1. Notify vehicle owner/driver by PHONE.
2. Activate emergency LIGHTS.
3. Activate SIREN.
4. Sound car HORN.
5. Activate cooling FANS.
6. Roll down car WINDOWS.
--- is that sufficient basis for parent to rely on? SIX desirably REDUNDANT features to prevent injuries & deaths. How could parent/driver and/or others close-by not NOTICE these alerts? Doesn’t it seem this system would be FAILSAFE?
No, another hot car death earlier this week.
A 4 y/o who was left in car in a vehicle w the ^ six safety features is now dead.
Not a child but a K-9 member of Arnold, MO. PD. Not trying to equate death of dog w death of child, and not delving into merits of Arnold PD’s dog policy per its Facebook page. More below.
STUFF HAPPENS regardless of whether car occupant is child or dog.
My point? Even when numerous automated, computerized, pre-programmed, or self-activated safety features are incorporated into a system to prevent hot car deaths, they can fail or be ignored. Or both.
Admittedly features like these may have prompted parents in some ALMOST Forgotten-Baby-Syndrome cases to remove a child (thank goodness), but even six alerts may not ALWAYS save a child in a car w these features.
Ultimate responsibility for children's safety lies on PARENT/guardian/driver to remove them from vehicle in a timely fashion. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Exactly what Mr. Scholtes failed to do.
imo
================================================
"Belgian Malinois in the K-9 unit, died from heat exhaustion after his handler left him in a running patrol car Wednesday with the air conditioning on, according to the police department. When Vader's handler returned to the car, he discovered the air conditioning had malfunctioned."
The car was "equipped with an air conditioning alarm system that is supposed to notifiy [sic] the handler by phone, activate the emergency lights and siren, sound the car horn, activate cooling fans and roll down the car windows if the car temperature increases to a certain level."
More info about PD policy re leaving K-9s in running patrol car, as "necessary and common practice when K-9 partner is not actively engaged in police work,
Imo any discussion of that warrants a SEPARATE THREAD to avoid muddying up this case & thread. Again my point: mechanical or technical errors happen, and ppl (can) ignore safety features. Even multiple features.
- Arnold, MO. PD Facebook, July 31
- ksdk.com, Aug. 1
Vader, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, served the Arnold community as a K-9 for the Arnold Police Department.
www.ksdk.com
