[steeljack]

there has been lots of chatter about this on local talk radio , a caller raised an interesting point , prior to the introduction of air-bags this sort of thing was unknown ,the babies car seat was in the front of the vehicle, now the babies are in rear which if the child falls asleep makes forgeting them easier , not an excuse but a small contributing factor .
Its illegal here in California to leave children under the age of 6 in cars alone , even just to pop into the convienience store for one minute or into the gas station to pay at the desk instead of using a credit card on the gas pump
Nationwide, in the U S at least 16 small children have died so far this year after being left in cars, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Last year, 29 children died, and 42 died in 2005, the study said. There have been 337 deaths in all since 1998.