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Power Windows Dangers

What you should know and how to protect your kids

Most parents are unaware that the power windows in their automobiles can kill or injure young children. Typically, the child has his or her head out the window of a parked car and accidentally leans on the window switch mounted horizontally on the armrest. Power windows can exert up to 80 pounds of pressure—enough to choke a child, or break arms or fingers. Initially a luxury item, power windows are on 80 percent of the vehicles sold today.

Groups

Auto safety and consumer groups are pressuring U.S. automakers and the government to change the design of power window switches to safeguard children.

Kids and Cars, a safety advocate group, and Consumers Union are asking automakers to voluntarily improve the safety features of power windows, but will move to petition federal regulators to require tougher safety standards if the automakers do not respond.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is compiling statistics on deaths and injuries from power windows as part of a larger safety study to be released this fall. Preliminary figures show there are up to four deaths annually. A 1997 government study by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis estimated power windows sent nearly 500 people to emergency rooms in one year, and that half the victims were small children. Kids and Cars reported that an 11-year old was killed in Indiana in April of this year by a power window.

Solutions

These safety advocates want the auto industry to replace horizontal "rocker" and "toggle" switches with "lever" switches which must be pulled up to activate the window. Toggle switches work when pushed forward or pulled back. Rocker switches move the glass up when you press one end of the switch, and down when you press the other. The lever switches make it virtually impossible for a child to accidentally activate the windows. The groups also recommended an auto-reverse feature for power windows where sensors cause the windows to reverse their course if the upward movement is blocked. This feature is similar to how an elevator door functions, which pops open if they sense an object in their path.

Most imported vehicles have lever switches, but only a few U.S. auto models have that design. In 1996 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered automakers to design window switches less prone to accidental activation. U.S. automakers are phasing in vertical lever designs on their newer models, but they are not yet standard on all models. On some U.S. models automakers offer power window lockouts that the driver can activate on the rear and front passenger windows, making it impossible for children to accidentally activate the windows. The automakers recommend that parents always use that feature when children are riding in the vehicle.

Many European cars also have the auto-reverse mechanism as a standard feature. Ford offers this feature as standard on its European Ford Focus, but it is an option on the U.S. Focus. (BMW models 325-I, 325-CI, 330-I or M3 are being recalled because the auto-reverse system on these 2003 model's windows could be defective. Local BMW dealers will replace the system if it isn't working properly. Contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.)

Safety Tips

Safety Tips from Kids 'n Cars:

> Never let children have unmonitored access to vehicles, or leave them unattended in a vehicle, not even to run a quick errand

> Make sure kids can't get the keys or remote locking/unlocking devices to get into the vehicle. Children might be able to start the vehicle or put it in neutral so it rolls away.

> Teach your children never to play in or around a vehicle

> Keep vehicles locked at all times; even in the garage or driveway

> Always make sure that all child passengers have left the car after it is parked

> When a child is missing, check vehicles and car trunks right away.