LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A safety foundation asked General Motors Corp. on Friday to recall its 2000-01 sedans and refit their trunks with emergency-release latches after two Arkansas children were found dead in the trunk of a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu.
Kansas-based Kids and Cars said that while Ford has installed glow-in-the-dark handles inside all trunks since 2000, General Motors offered the latches only as an option on models made before 2002.
"If these two children found themselves trapped inside a 2000 Ford trunk, they would be alive today," the group said in a statement.
GM said it was too early to say what action the company might take in the wake of deaths.
"We don't have all of the facts. We know very unfortunately that two children died in this situation and we're extremely saddened," said Janine Fruehan, a spokeswoman for the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Mich.
Washington County Coroner Roger Morris said it appears 5-year-old Curtis Markley and 4-year-old Virginia Markley of Springdale died accidentally in the car's trunk on Monday. The state Crime Laboratory at Little Rock was asked to examine the bodies.
Police said it is likely that the children were playing in the trunk when it closed. Sgt. Shane Pegram said the siblings likely died of asphyxiation but that further investigation was needed. Temperatures were nearly 90 degrees Monday afternoon.
"Kids love to get into little areas; just kids being curious," said Janette Fennell, the founder of Kids and Cars in Leawood, Kan. She said the group sent a letter to General Motors and to federal regulators asking for a recall.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released data for "non-traffic" deaths in January that showed three people died in 2003-04 after being closed inside a trunk. In a one-month period of 1998, 11 children were found dead in car trunks, prompting calls for trunk-release latches.
An agency study concluded in 1999 said that 1,175 people had become trapped in car trunks between 1970 and 1998. Most were abducted adults or children who accidentally locked themselves in.
Mark wrote:My 2001 Ford pickup came with a hard tonneau cover. IT even has a flow-in-the-dark release handle inside. I would think that the right lawyer would have a field day with the idea that GM failed to maintain the industry standard in one of its cars.
Boris wrote:Mark wrote:My 2001 Ford pickup came with a hard tonneau cover. IT even has a flow-in-the-dark release handle inside. I would think that the right lawyer would have a field day with the idea that GM failed to maintain the industry standard in one of its cars.
I must have missed the "industry standard" part... Where does it say that???
Airfoilsguy wrote:Boris wrote:Mark wrote:My 2001 Ford pickup came with a hard tonneau cover. IT even has a flow-in-the-dark release handle inside. I would think that the right lawyer would have a field day with the idea that GM failed to maintain the industry standard in one of its cars.
I must have missed the "industry standard" part... Where does it say that???
I don't think its a standard yet. Ford just started it. Much like day time running lights in the states which I believe GM started.
I don't think Mercedes even has them yet. At least the 2008 I last drove didn't have it.
Mark wrote:Once a manfacturer develops an innovative safety device, it must be adopted by all manufacturers. Failure to do so leaves nonconformants open to litigation. At least that's been the case in the ambulance and fire vehicle business.
captoveur wrote:I don't think the woman's 07 Acura has it.
I kind of prefer cars not have it.. What if I want to haul around dead bodies? They might not be totally dead and have a means to escape.
Cadet57 wrote:But maybe if the parents got off their asses and idk, did some parenting they wouldn't have dead kids.
ShanwickOceanic wrote:Cadet57 wrote:But maybe if the parents got off their asses and idk, did some parenting they wouldn't have dead kids.
This.
How long do you have to be in the boot/trunk to die of suffocation? Put another way, how long does a supposedly responsible adult have to leave you unsupervised? The problem here isn't a lack of fluorescent plastic thingies, it's a lack of parenting, and one is no substitute for the other.
Cadet57 wrote:
I've never understood how you CAN suffocate in a trunk. Its not like its a vacuum. There is still air in it. Maybe Mark can explain.
Mark wrote:It's not like trunks are airtight. There's always gaps around the rear seat backs.
ShanwickOceanic wrote:And not just hypothermia - the opposite is also a very real risk.
captoveur wrote:ShanwickOceanic wrote:And not just hypothermia - the opposite is also a very real risk.
That's what I am thinking.. This time of year, especially in the southern US I am thinking the heat would probably kill you faster than the cold in the dead of winter in Alaska.
captoveur wrote:*smacks head* hyperthermia
I can read, really I can.
