Q&As: Power windows and child safety

November 2009

1 How many people are killed or injured by power windows?

Based on 2003-2004 data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that power windows kill an average of 5 children14 and younger each year. Based on 2003-2006 data, power windows injure an average of 1,000 children 14 and younger each year.1 Based on a telephone survey conducted by Kids and Cars, a nonprofit child safety organization, more than 13 million adults in the US have injured someone they know by closing a car window.2

2 How do power-window-related injuries happen?

Most result when windows are unintentionally closed while someone's finger, wrist, hand, arm, or even head is in the window. In documented power window cases involving child injury or death, children often were left inside a vehicle without adult supervision. Children put their heads and/or arms outside the window and inadvertently leaned, knelt, or stepped on the window switch or in some other way triggered the power window.3 There also have been cases in which an adult unknowingly trapped a child when closing a window.4

3 What kinds of injuries occur from power-window-related incidents?

Sixty-eight percent of incidents result in fractures or crushed body parts. Other injuries include bruising, dislocation, laceration, and strain or sprain.5 Deaths among children have occurred after their head, neck, or midsection was trapped in the window for 5 or more minutes and they couldn't be resuscitated. In cases involving multiple children in a car, those who witnessed the injury were more likely to panic and call for help rather than try to open the power window.

4 What are the various kinds of power window switches?

There are three types of switches: rocker, toggle, and lever (push-pull) switches.

Rocker	Toggle	Lever

Rocker switches are designed to pivot on a center hinge, effectively operating like a see-saw.

Toggle switches operate using small levers that push back and forth to open and close a window.

Lever or push-down/pull-up switches function by pressing down on the switch to open the window, but the switch must be actively pulled up to close the window.

With rocker and toggle switches, commonly located on door armrests, downward pressure (e.g., a child kneeling or leaning) on the switch can result in windows opening or closing. With lever switches, which also are commonly located on door armrests, windows cannot be closed due to unintentional pressure.3 Regulations issued by the federal government require manufacturers to equip all new passenger vehicles with lever switches by Oct. 1, 2010.

5 What are automatic-reverse power windows?

This type of power window automatically retracts when it contacts an obstruction (like a hand or arm). Child safety advocates support automatic-reverse windows as an added measure to prevent power window-related injuries and deaths. In February 2008, the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 became law, directing NHTSA to amend FMVSS no. 118, the federal standard for power-operated windows. On Sept. 1, 2009, NHTSA initiated rulemaking to consider an amendment to the standard that would require certain power windows and panels on passenger vehicles to automatically reverse direction when they detect an obstruction. Automatic reverse power windows would prevent injuries, including occasions when a driver is operating the switch and cannot see the rear seat passengers.

References

¹National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2009. Not-in-traffic surveillance 2007-Children. Report no. DOT HS-811-116. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation.

²Kids and Cars. 2009. New data contests NHTSA findings, exposes real danger of vehicle power windows. www.kidsandcars.org/Press_Release_110209_final.doc (accessed November 10, 2009).

³Office of the Federal Register. 2006. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – Title 49 Transportation, Part 571 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Subpart 118 Power-operated window, partition, and roof panel systems (49 CFR 571.118). Code of Federal Regulations (October 1, 2006 edition), pp. 405-10. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration.

⁴Simmons, GT. 1992. Death by power car window: an unrecognized hazard. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 13:112-14.

⁵National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 1997. Injuries associated with hazards involving motor vehicle power windows. Research note. Report no. DOT HS-042 417. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation.