Trunk Safety Device
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(12/16/98)
A new safety device will prevent children from being trapped in car trunks. Improvements in car-trunk safety began this summer after 11 children nationwide, five from West Valley City, died after locking themselves in the trunks of cars.
Those little girls were remembered today at a SAFE KIDS Coalition news conference on car safety. General Motors designed the kit that will prevent such accidents. Charles Sherrill has more from our Washington bureau.
A toddler trapped in a car trunk, in the searing summer heat, has maybe half an hour to be rescued or perish. It happened last summer in Utah, New Mexico and Pennsylvania claiming a total of 11 young lives.
General Motors put its engineers to work on the problem and found a three part solution. A new kind of latch makes it less likely kids can trap themselves. A grownup can set the latch to close but most kids can't. Nor can they defeat another lockout feature.
The ultimate life saver is an illuminated lever inside the trunk that lets kids free themselves if they do get trapped. It was the most effective of nine designs GM tested on a group of about 100 three to seven year olds.
For $50 dealers will install the system on 1990 and later model GM cars begining next March according to the company. GM says it will share its work with competitors but they'll be responsible for their cars. Charles Sherrill, KSL News. Washington.
