Washington, DC - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Senator John Sununu (R-NH), joined by child safety advocates and families who have lost children to announce that they have reintroduced legislation to improve the child safety features in new vehicles. They were also joined by Representative Peter King (R-NY) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), who have introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"By taking simple, common sense steps using technology that already exists at low cost, we can make our cars safer for our children and protect them from these deadly, avoidable accidents. We owe it to families to do everything we can to give drivers a warning and give kids a chance," said Senator Clinton.

"Cars don't need to be moving to be dangerous. Already this year at least 12 children have died as a result of non-traffic automobile accidents," said Sununu. "Senator Clinton and I have reintroduced our child safety legislation because this issue remains an urgent public safety matter. By taking responsible, affordable precautions - such as installing backover warning systems, power window strangulation prevention mechanisms and brakeshift interlocks - we can save lives."

Almost every other day, a young child is killed in a non-traffic automobile accident. Since 2000, at least 1,000 children have died in non-traffic incidents, with 219 in 2006 alone. Back-over incidents have increased dramatically claiming the lives of 474 children from 2002-2006 compared to 128 from 1997-2001 and now account for half of all non-traffic fatalities involving children. The federal government does not collect data about non-traffic incidents, so the actual fatality numbers are likely much higher. A 2002 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over 9,100 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms due to non-traffic incidents in a one-year time period.

The technology exists to protect families and children from these tragedies at relatively low cost and new innovations are being developed all the time. Power window sensors, for example, cost only $8-12 a window. Brakeshift interlocks are already standard in most passenger vehicles, but where they aren't, they cost only $5 a car. Backover warning systems cost approximately $300 a car, but if these or similar technologies were required, the market would create even more competition and drive down the price. Despite the availability of lifesaving technology, neither Congress nor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration currently requires the technology be installed. Such technology is only available on a select few vehicles, or as an after-market product consumers have to purchase themselves.

The Cameron Gulbransen Kids and Cars Safety Act addresses issues surrounding vehicles and child safety, such as children being backed over, strangled by power windows or killed when they or someone else inadvertently knocks a vehicle into motion. The bill directs the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to issue three regulations to decrease the incidence of child injury and death. The first regulation will ensure that power windows automatically reverse direction when they detect an obstruction to prevent children from being trapped, injured or killed. A second will provide drivers with a means of detecting the presence of a person or object behind their vehicle. And a third will provide for the vehicle service brake to be engaged to prevent vehicles from unintentionally rolling away. The bill also establishes a child safety information program administered by the Secretary of Transportation to collect non-traffic, non-crash incident data and disseminate information to parents about these hazards and ways to mitigate them.

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