• 14
  • December
    2011

The Safety Council of Palm Beach has announced a new campaign that will help childcare providers prevent child deaths due to being left in cars. The idea is to have the driver wear a blue silicone bracelet when there is a child in the vehicle. That bracelet is meant to reminder the provider that he or she is driving a child in the back of the car.

The goal of the Palm Beach county campaign is to avoid preventable deaths caused by children being left in hot cars. Last year, six children died after being left in the back of a vehicle. In one case, a daycare provider left a 2-year-old girl in the back of a day care van. Fire and rescue personnel in Palm Beach County are dispatched to forgotten children left in vehicles more than 400 times a year.

While the goal of the campaign is to help child care providers, it easily could have other uses as well. Parents and drivers of young children could wear the bracelet as a reminder to avoid distracted or aggressive driving when transporting a child, too. Car accidents are the leading cause of death and serious injury for children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: Sun Sentinel, "New campaign aims at preventing deaths of children in vehicles," Cynthia Roldan, 12/14/2011