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3 On Your Side: Gadgets Meant To Detect Kids In Hot Cars Aren't Reliable

By Jim Donovan

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - As sweltering temperatures continue to affect our area and many other parts of the country, a locked car can very quickly become deadly for a small child.

3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan tells us that a new government study finds that consumer products aimed at avoiding tragedies aren't necessarily successful on their own.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), heat stroke killed 33 children in cars last year and 49 children the year before.

New research from NHTSA and Children's Hospital found that some of the devices intended to help parents avoid such tragedies with child-detecting sensors and alerts are well-intentioned, but unreliable and inconsistent when used on their own.

Some were rendered ineffective by liquids or cell phone interference, others when children moved out-of-position and parents could be given a false sense of security.

Keeping that in mind:

-- Never leave children unattended in a vehicle, even for a few minutes, even with the windows partially opened and even with the air conditioning on;

-- Check the front and back of the vehicle before locking and walking away;

-- Give yourself reminders. Place a bag, briefcase, or cell phone in the back seat if you need to;

-- And teach children that the car isn't a play area. Keep keys out of reach of children so they can't enter an unattended car.

That's good advice even when we're not in a heat wave. When the temperature is in the low 80's outside, the temperature inside a car can reach deadly levels within ten minutes.

For more information visit www.nhtsa.gov/safety/hyperthermia/.

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