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Bill bars kids left alone in vehicles
The Kansas Legislature may establish fines for leaving children younger than 9 alone in cars -- even for a minute.BY SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIASThe Wichita EagleAndrea Weir suspects she's like a lot of busy moms.
She has left her children in the car for a few seconds -- belted in, doors locked, keys removed, mild weather -- to pay for gas or sign an admission slip in the school office.
"It's rare, but I do it," said Weir, a Derby mother of four. "There are times when something only takes a minute, but unloading them all would take 20."
A proposed law that is one step away from final approval would make that practice criminal. The law would make it illegal for any driver to leave a child under 9 alone in a car -- for even a minute.
That means that if you run in to QuikTrip for coffee, or pick up your dry cleaning, or leave the car in the driveway while you retrieve a library book, you could be ticketed and fined. The first offense would cost $25; subsequent ones, $250 to $500.
Supporters say their goal isn't so much to punish parents as to educate them about the dangers of leaving kids unattended. Tragedies can happen in seconds, they say, and no quick errand is worth the risk.
But opponents, including several lawmakers who voted against the measure, call it an unreasonable intrusion on family life and unfair to busy moms.
"This could affect people who are really not putting their children in harm's way," said state Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, a mother of four, who voted against the bill.
"There are a lot of busy moms out there who are multitasking and who occasionally leave their children alone for a couple of minutes in a safe situation," she said. "Enough is enough. Young moms have enough to worry about. This is unreasonable."
Advocates of the law, however, say leaving kids alone in a car is never a good idea. And too often, it can turn tragic.
When the worst happens
Michele Struttmann's 2-year-old son, Harrison, was killed in 1999 after two toddlers left unattended in a running vehicle shifted the car into gear and ran over him. She was injured trying to save her son, but no charges were filed.
Shortly afterward, Struttmann and her husband founded Kids in Cars, a group devoted to warning parents about the danger and pushing for legislation. So far, 11 states have passed measures similar to the one proposed in Kansas.
"The bottom line is, your child's safety should never be sacrificed for your convenience," said Struttmann, who lives in Missouri. "I would do anything in the world to have our son back."
Rep. David Huff, R-Lenexa, who introduced the bill in the Kansas House, said he was moved by Struttmann's story and similar cases in Kansas. In 2004, two Wichita toddlers died after they fell out of a car and were struck as it rolled out of a driveway.
"This is not a bill that cracks people over the heads," Huff said. "But right now there's no law on the books unless something happens -- and that's too late."
Currently, if a police officer discovers a child alone in a car, he can scold the parent, Huff said. If there is evidence of maltreatment or neglect, such as when a child is left in a hot vehicle, the parent can be charged with child endangerment.
Bill's pros and cons
The proposed measure would be more stringent than laws governing children at home. Kansas law doesn't specify how old a child must be to stay home alone, nor does it define an unsupervised child.
That's what upsets Wagle and others who say the law, while well-intentioned, is misguided.
"We send children to the back yard and watch them from the window," she said. Moms leave napping babies to get the mail.
"We should be punishing criminals and criminal behavior," Wagle said. "Not well-intentioned moms who might leave a sleeping child in the back seat to run into QuikTrip for a gallon of milk."
In the parking lot of a Wichita convenience store last week, an Eagle reporter spotted several parents leaving children in the car while they dashed in for supplies. Some said conveniences such as pay-at-the-pump gas and drive-through pharmacies help, but they're not as plentiful as they need to be.
Others applauded the proposed law or said they assumed it was already illegal to leave children alone.
"We're not living in the '50s anymore," said Lakeeta Hill, a mother of two. She said she never leaves her daughters, ages 4 and 1, unsupervised in the car or elsewhere.
"People steal cars. They snatch kids. There are pedophiles," she said. "I don't leave my kids. If I need to run and do things, I call my mom to see if she can come."
The proposed law is one of several measures that could change parents' car habits. A bill passed last month would require children ages 4 through 7 to ride in booster seats if they weigh 80 pounds or less or are shorter than 4-foot-9.
Huff, the bill's author, said even more important is the education campaign that would go along with the law. The state plans to use $15,000 in federal Department of Transportation money to distribute brochures and other literature.
Struttmann, the Kids in Cars founder, said she understands parents' busy lives and the temptation not to unload and upset a sleeping child. She runs errands with her 4-year-old son, Payton, all the time.
But, she said, "if you had $1 million in cash, would you leave it alone in your vehicle -- for even a minute? Most people say no. And this is your child we're talking about.
"I can't stress enough that a car is not a playground, a car is not a toy, and a car is certainly not a baby sitter."
The Kansas Legislature may establish fines for leaving children younger than 9 alone in cars -- even for a minute.BY SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIASThe Wichita EagleAndrea Weir suspects she's like a lot of busy moms.
She has left her children in the car for a few seconds -- belted in, doors locked, keys removed, mild weather -- to pay for gas or sign an admission slip in the school office.
"It's rare, but I do it," said Weir, a Derby mother of four. "There are times when something only takes a minute, but unloading them all would take 20."
A proposed law that is one step away from final approval would make that practice criminal. The law would make it illegal for any driver to leave a child under 9 alone in a car -- for even a minute.
That means that if you run in to QuikTrip for coffee, or pick up your dry cleaning, or leave the car in the driveway while you retrieve a library book, you could be ticketed and fined. The first offense would cost $25; subsequent ones, $250 to $500.
Supporters say their goal isn't so much to punish parents as to educate them about the dangers of leaving kids unattended. Tragedies can happen in seconds, they say, and no quick errand is worth the risk.
But opponents, including several lawmakers who voted against the measure, call it an unreasonable intrusion on family life and unfair to busy moms.
"This could affect people who are really not putting their children in harm's way," said state Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, a mother of four, who voted against the bill.
"There are a lot of busy moms out there who are multitasking and who occasionally leave their children alone for a couple of minutes in a safe situation," she said. "Enough is enough. Young moms have enough to worry about. This is unreasonable."
Advocates of the law, however, say leaving kids alone in a car is never a good idea. And too often, it can turn tragic.
When the worst happens
Michele Struttmann's 2-year-old son, Harrison, was killed in 1999 after two toddlers left unattended in a running vehicle shifted the car into gear and ran over him. She was injured trying to save her son, but no charges were filed.
Shortly afterward, Struttmann and her husband founded Kids in Cars, a group devoted to warning parents about the danger and pushing for legislation. So far, 11 states have passed measures similar to the one proposed in Kansas.
"The bottom line is, your child's safety should never be sacrificed for your convenience," said Struttmann, who lives in Missouri. "I would do anything in the world to have our son back."
Rep. David Huff, R-Lenexa, who introduced the bill in the Kansas House, said he was moved by Struttmann's story and similar cases in Kansas. In 2004, two Wichita toddlers died after they fell out of a car and were struck as it rolled out of a driveway.
"This is not a bill that cracks people over the heads," Huff said. "But right now there's no law on the books unless something happens -- and that's too late."
Currently, if a police officer discovers a child alone in a car, he can scold the parent, Huff said. If there is evidence of maltreatment or neglect, such as when a child is left in a hot vehicle, the parent can be charged with child endangerment.
Bill's pros and cons
The proposed measure would be more stringent than laws governing children at home. Kansas law doesn't specify how old a child must be to stay home alone, nor does it define an unsupervised child.
That's what upsets Wagle and others who say the law, while well-intentioned, is misguided.
"We send children to the back yard and watch them from the window," she said. Moms leave napping babies to get the mail.
"We should be punishing criminals and criminal behavior," Wagle said. "Not well-intentioned moms who might leave a sleeping child in the back seat to run into QuikTrip for a gallon of milk."
In the parking lot of a Wichita convenience store last week, an Eagle reporter spotted several parents leaving children in the car while they dashed in for supplies. Some said conveniences such as pay-at-the-pump gas and drive-through pharmacies help, but they're not as plentiful as they need to be.
Others applauded the proposed law or said they assumed it was already illegal to leave children alone.
"We're not living in the '50s anymore," said Lakeeta Hill, a mother of two. She said she never leaves her daughters, ages 4 and 1, unsupervised in the car or elsewhere.
"People steal cars. They snatch kids. There are pedophiles," she said. "I don't leave my kids. If I need to run and do things, I call my mom to see if she can come."
The proposed law is one of several measures that could change parents' car habits. A bill passed last month would require children ages 4 through 7 to ride in booster seats if they weigh 80 pounds or less or are shorter than 4-foot-9.
Huff, the bill's author, said even more important is the education campaign that would go along with the law. The state plans to use $15,000 in federal Department of Transportation money to distribute brochures and other literature.
Struttmann, the Kids in Cars founder, said she understands parents' busy lives and the temptation not to unload and upset a sleeping child. She runs errands with her 4-year-old son, Payton, all the time.
But, she said, "if you had $1 million in cash, would you leave it alone in your vehicle -- for even a minute? Most people say no. And this is your child we're talking about.
"I can't stress enough that a car is not a playground, a car is not a toy, and a car is certainly not a baby sitter."
because other thread has it some where
