Safety devices to prevent heat deaths unreliable

As we cope with some of the most uncomfortable temperatures of the summer here this week, it offers us a reminder that kids, closed vehicles and heat can be a deadly combination.

It is important to ensure that children are not left alone in closed vehicles at any time of the year, but it is critical at this time of year. Heat can kill — and quickly.

It is possible that awareness of this danger is growing. Companies, including automakers, are beginning to develop and offer devices to consumers that can help parents avoid the hazard.

That should be good news, but now comes a warning from a federal agency that parents should not depend on these devices because they are “inconsistent and unreliable” in doing their job of protecting children.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tested 18 of these devices. They included seat pads, safety belt attachments, chest clips, door alerts and various alarms designed to signal adults that a child was left in the car when they left it.

Some might think that should be unnecessary. After all, any responsible adult should know they left a child in the car. But surprisingly “I forgot they were in the car” is often given as the reason for incidents where children are injured or killed by heat. Another one often given is “I was just going to be gone a minute or two.”

The devices are well-intentioned and could be a life-saver if they worked well. But the NHTSA says they don’t. Small maladjustments and changes in the position of the child can render them useless.

Parents may want them as an extra backup, but the bottom line is that the first line of defense — the alertness of the parents — remains the only true safeguard, just as it always has been.