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Technology And Strategies For Preventing Hot Car Deaths Among Children

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As temperatures heat up, safety experts are warning about the dangers of leaving children inside cars.

New technology is helping make sure parents and caretakers don't forget their kids in the back seat, and many are pushing to make this mandatory in all new cars.

In early June, police responded to the death of a nine-month-old girl near Houston. Her parents had driven home and accidentally left her in the back seat for three hours in 90-degree heat.

"I asked my mother to take him to daycare for me," Delores Estis said.

Estis lost her son, Christian, in a hot car 10 years ago. Her mother forgot to drop the 3-year-old off at daycare.

"Every year, you're disappointed that it hasn't stopped. But no parent thinks it will happen to them," Estis said.

Nearly 40 children die every year after being left inside a hot car, but there are simple strategies to prevent it.

"So you take your handbag, you put it on the floor, right by the car seat, now you're forced to open the door every time you get to your destination," said Sue Auriemma, vice president of Kids and Cars. "Keep a stuffed animal in that car seat. When you put the baby in in the morning, you move the stuffed animal to the front seat next to you. And there's always a visual reminder that the baby is with you."

Parents can also benefit from taking advantage of the newest technology, like the Evenflo car seat. "When you turn off your car, this car seat chimes to remind you your child is buckled in," said John Schiumo, CBS News correspondent.

GMC and Nissan both have vehicles with an alert system to remind drivers to check the rear seats. Congress is now considering legislation requiring the technology in all new cars.

"The worst mistake a parent can make is thinking this couldn't happen to them," Auriemma said.

Experts recommend that parents take advantage of the latest technology and always look in the backseat before they lock the car to prevent a tragedy.

Almost a third of these fatalities happened when unattended children were playing inside a car and accidentally locked themselves in. Safety experts recommend locking your car doors at all times and keeping the keys out of a child's reach.

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