WASHINGTON, DC --
U.S.
Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today joined Senators Clinton and Sununu,
Congressman Peter King, parents of children killed in preventable auto
accidents, and consumer leaders to renew the call for passage of the Cameron
Gulbransen Kids and Cars Safety Act (HR 2230 and S. 1948).
Schakowsky’s statement, as prepared for delivery,
is below:
“I want to begin by thanking Kids and Cars and
Consumers Union for tirelessly fighting to make cars safer for children.
“I also want to thank Senators Clinton and Sununu,
and Congressman King. I am proud to be working with you in the fight for
simple safety measures that will protect the lives of children. The bill we
introduced, the Cameron Gulbransen Kids and Cars Safety Act, would mandate those
improved standards.
“At least 30,000 other Americans, 984 Illinoisans,
who signed the petition in support of the Kids and Cars Safety Act agree that
the time to pass this bill is now.
“The families who have joined us here today know
all too well the urgency of passing this bill. And, I want to thank for your
courage to stand with us to help protect other families from the tragedy you
have experienced. You set an example for us all by turning your heartbreak into
action.
“Unfortunately, your experiences are not unique.
Four families each and every week last year lost a child to non-traffic,
non-crash related accidents. In the first 6 months of 2006, 117 children lost
their lives in accidents that could have been prevented if the cars involved had
been designed better.
“Many of these children were killed without ever
leaving their driveways – suffocated by unsafe power windows, backed over by
cars with major blind spots, or because a car was accidentally put into motion
by a child who could not control it.
“In 2005, we lost more than 100 children to
back-over accidents alone. The same was true in 2004. At least two children in
Illinois – a 16-month old little boy named Malcolm and a 20-month old little
girl, Ewelina– were lost this year when their parents backed-over them in front
of their homes.
“This should come as no surprise. As Sally
Greenberg from Consumers Union will report (or has reported), the average blind
spots for all makes and models of cars fall between 10 feet for wagons and
hatchbacks and 23 feet for pickups (with 5’8” drivers). The worst blind spot –
in the 2006 Jeep Commander Ltd – is 44 feet for a 5’8” driver; 69 feet
for a 5’1” driver.
“The greatest tragedy is that these deaths are
preventable – if car manufacturers do the right thing. Passing our bill, the
Kids and Cars Safety Act, would make them do just that: no excuses. As Cate
Winnicki, a signer of the petition from Illinois, says, “If using this
technology will save just one child's life than it is worth it, but to be able
to save hundreds and even thousands over the course of a few years makes it
mandatory.”
“Fortunately, with the passage of last year’s
highway bill, H.R. 3, we got the ball rolling on a number of safety provisions
in our bill.
“The National Highway Safety and Transportation
Administration is now responsible for collecting statistics on non-traffic,
non-crash auto accidents. They will no longer be turning a blind eye and Kids
and Cars won’t be forced to gather the numbers on its own to ensure that the
public knows about this problem.
“No longer will manufacturers be able to put power
window switches in cars that make it easy for a child to be strangled by
kneeling on an armrest.
“We need to build on that momentum and to go
further. We need to make sure that power window switches are safe, but we also
need windows to auto-reverse if there is an obstruction.
“It’s important to study back-over prevention, as
NHTSA is doing, but we must also require rearward visibility standards.
“And, we need a warning system to remind drivers if
there is still someone in the backseat, so no child is accidentally left alone.
Our bill would require these extra steps to protect our children from needless
harm.
“I want to put the cost of these technologies into
perspective. Adding brakeshift interlocks to prevent unintentional rolling
would cost $5. Power window sensors run between $8-$12. Back-over Warning
Systems are currently $300, but the price will go down as they become standard.
Many car companies offer these added safety features on their higher-end
vehicles. Protecting our children is not a luxury to be priced out of reach for
most Americans, it is a commonsense option that should be the law of the land.
“As Illinoisan Julie Walther added when she signed
the petition, “There is no cost too great for the safety of a child. Make the
investment, the buyers will come.”
“Ami Diekemper, also of Illinois, captures how so
many feel about the tragedy of these preventable injuries and deaths: “As the
mother of 3 children, it breaks my heart that anything like this can still go
on. It is up to us to protect these little ones.”
“As a grandmother of four, it breaks my heart that
we have to come back month after month, year after year, and tragic story after
tragic story, only to meet roadblocks to passing this commonsense legislation.
I urge everyone to get involved and help us pass the Kids and Cars Safety Act.
Thank you.” |