5 ways to protect children from your car’s hidden danger

Power windows in cars are a modern convenience that many of us take for granted, but they can also be deadly.

Just last month in Zwolle, Louisiana, a 19-month-old boy died after getting his head caught in a power window. According to kidsandcars.org, a nonprofit organization with the goal to stop death and injuries of children involving motor vehicles, there have been at least 50 deaths and thousands of injuries involving children and power windows since 1990.

This subject is very personal to me. I almost lost my daughter last year after I rolled up her car window, not knowing that her head was caught outside. I didn't realize what was going on until my older daughter approached the car and, with a puzzled face, alerted me to the back seat, where I saw my daughter hanging from the window. This will haunt me for the rest of my life.

My daughter had already lost her pulse. She was given CPR immediately and taken to the emergency room. She has recovered and thankfully has no residual mental or physical damage. “Lucky” is not a big enough word for how I feel about the way our experience ended. I know it easily could have gone the other way.

According to www.keepyourchildsafe.org, “It takes only 22 pounds of force to break the trachea of a small child, yet many power windows in cars close with 30 to 80 pounds of force, posing a serious strangulation danger.”

Unfortunately, it has not been mandated in the United States to install automatic reversing systems, which would stop a power window if something was in the way, much like how elevators operate. This technology would only cost around $6 per window and is already being offered in most cars sold in Europe; but in the United States, this option is rarely available.

So what can we do to protect our children?

1. Never leave children unattended

It's important to never leave your children in the car alone, or leave your keys in the car unattended. “Between 1998 and 2011, nearly 525 children died as a result of being left alone in a car,” according to the Primary Children's Hospital Kids in Cars safety program. There are a number of ways that children can quickly get into trouble when left alone in automobile, including getting caught in a power window.

2. Buckle up

If your children are still small enough to be in a child car seat, make sure he or she is always securely fastened. Keep an extra eye on small children who can unbuckle their own seats. On the day of our accident, I hadn't made my daughter wear her seatbelt because we were only traveling two blocks to the bus stop. Had she been wearing her seatbelt the accident would have never happened.

3. Know your car

Understand what kind of power switches are in your car. Most newer cars have switches that you have to lift in order to raise the window. These are safer since a child couldn't accidentally close themselves in a window by just leaning on the button — something that can happen with older models. However, even with the safer switches, accidents like mine can still happen. It is also important to see if you have child safety locks, which make it so children can't play with their windows and only one person has control of the windows.

3. Teach safe habits

Teach your children not to stick parts of their body out of car windows, sun roofs or moon roofs. Besides heads being caught, there have also been injuries — and amputations — due to fingers and arms being stuck outside the window. Be specific about what can happen to them so they understand it is a real danger.

5. Always check first

This final tip is, for me, the most valuable lesson: Never roll up car windows without doing a visual check that all the windows are clear. If that isn't possible, get a verbal “all ready” from everyone near a window before rolling them up. A quick glance behind me before rolling up the window would have saved a lot of heartache.