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After the decision is overturned: How vital are systems for preventing children from being forgotten in the car? | Israel today

2022-01-21T10:25:49.322Z


The obligation to install systems to help prevent the forgotten children in the car has been abolished • Importers are angry about the resources invested in vain, the Ministry of Transport believes that this is a financial burden that will not benefit, and the public? Confused • Deputy Minister Avir Kara: "It is more correct to campaign publicly every year, but by no means oblige"


Many innovative developments to prevent children from being forgotten in the vehicle were launched after the former Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev, decided to require the law to install such systems less than a year ago.

After a decision was postponed to March 2022 by Minister Merav Michaeli, earlier this week the government announced that the obligation to install the systems was abolished.

According to data from the organization "Before" for child safety, it appears that in the last five years 20 children have died as a result of forgetting or being trapped in a vehicle, and in 2021 alone six children lost their lives as a result of such cases. However, the Ministry of Health is not sure that the safety systems are the solution. The reasons for the cancellation read: "The decision comes against the background of uncertainty about the actual effectiveness of the systems, and out of fear that the implementation of the regulation will impose a financial burden on the public, will not necessarily benefit and stop the tragic cases that unfortunately occur every year." It was further stated that in accordance with the government decision, the Ministry of Transport will "appeal to the Economics Committee to cancel the installation, and propose an effective alternative and policy to deal with the terrible phenomenon of forgetting children."

This decision has of course caused a great deal of anger among importers, who report that they have invested a lot of resources in importing these systems, and that following the rejection of the law there has been a significant decrease in demand for these products, and think it is an absurd decision. J. Systems: "All conduct on the part of the regulator is manifestly irresponsible.

"There is no doubt that these systems save not only death, but also traumatic injuries from the grandfather who forgot his grandson in the car, and he is found red and barely breathing."

Avir Kara, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon

In contrast, Deputy Minister Avir Kara thinks this is a welcome decision: "The state does not prevent anyone from selling a system to prevent children from being forgotten in the car," he explains.

"The state can say it is doing something and then decide otherwise."

What is the basis for the decision that such systems can not save forgotten children in a vehicle?


"There were 34 such cases in Israel, and our examination revealed that nine of them were children who got into the car on their own, without an adult, which means that the system would not solve it. Of the other 25 cases, 17 were in the Arab sector. It is more correct to do a public campaign every year in the networks as well, but by no means to charge - it does not exist anywhere in the world.

"What they did in Israel was serious. They created a unique Israeli standard with 17-15 pages, when in fact no device in the world could meet the standards, and the systems were supposed to cost NIS 1,500. This is a regulation that would cost NIS 600 million a year. , And also in the Ministry of Transport the position is the same.Before enforcing such a law on the public, it is obligatory to make an orderly report.

Although according to the data, these are relatively few cases of children being left unattended in the vehicle, due to the large drop in prices, these systems have become a fairly accessible product for everyone.

Can they really prevent disaster?

We checked.

Cushion with weight detector.

ADI Systems, Photo: PR ADI Systems

"Selling at a loss"

Among the variety of new developments, we found that of ADI Systems, which developed Bcare, a warning system to prevent children from forgetting in the car, consisting of a pillow with a weight detector to identify the baby sitting on it, and a dedicated app that notifies the driver in case of forgetfulness.

As soon as the driver moves away from the vehicle and the Bluetooth communication is disconnected, he receives an audible and visual alert from the app.

If after four minutes the driver has not stopped the alert, the app automatically sends text messages to predefined contacts, along with a link to the vehicle location.

"Many companies have invested tens of millions of shekels in the development and import of systems to prevent children from being forgotten in the vehicle following the decision of the Ministry of Transportation," says Kosowski.

"Who will compensate them? The price of pillows of various types was initially NIS 400-350, and today, after the prices have dropped, they rise to around NIS 250-180."

Do not you think the initial price was too high?


"It was not exaggerated, just nowadays these are loss-making prices, so as not to get stuck with the inventory. It's like asking why a hamburger costs 67 shekels while its production costs 16 shekels. There is a cost of Standards Institute, development, imports, workers."

Efficiency A system that relies on the attention of people receiving an alert is not problematic?


"Our system has backup upon backup. Most likely out of the four who receive an alert, one will hear."


Another solution offered is the "Baby Button", a system linked in eCall technology to a human center that provides a 24-hour response, and is skilled at managing a child rescue event independently.

A system linked to a human focus.

Baby Button, Photo: Button Marketing Department

The system includes sensors that connect to the safety seat, and a standalone dialer connected to the center.

Here, too, it was decided to lower the prices of the system in order to keep up with the existing competition: "We reduced the cost of this system by 10%," shares Lee-Chen Kamlerker, CEO of the "Button" company. We are manning a human emergency hotline.

The system now costs 40 shekels instead of 45, for 36 months.

Demand has dropped since they decided to repeal the law, which is a shame.

However, we have 320-250 emergency calls a day of all kinds. "

"I forgot the boy in the car"

Another product is the BABYFLAG, which includes a device mounted on the car door without the need for installation, similar to the Independence Day flag.

The product makes the door "supervised" so that at each opening it the flag rises automatically and activates an electronic system that makes sure there is a responsible adult nearby.


When the door is closed, the system locks, and can not be neutralized as long as the vehicle is traveling and the driver is inside.

If the system is not neutralized and it detects that the person has moved away or that there is a high fever in the vehicle for more than two minutes from the time it is activated - it will activate an independent alarm as well as an alarm on the driver's cell phone.

Makes the door "supervised."

Baby Flag, Photo: Eucalyptus

Gideon Kuperman, CEO of the BABYFLAG standard, developed the product following a personal case. "I forgot my five-year-old child for a minute in the car," he says. "When a parent walks away from the car, he does not see the child inside the vehicle, and he certainly cannot hear him, and those are critical seconds."

Another interesting development is the "Django Connectivity" company - software based on computer vision and artificial intelligence, which connects to a camera that faces the passenger compartment, and allows it to monitor those present in the vehicle and understand what is happening in it.

Possible uses are to identify the driver's condition, such as whether he is asleep or not looking at the road, and the software can also be used as a system to prevent children from forgetting.

"If the system suspects that a baby has been forgotten, a message is sent to the driver or he is denied the option to lock the door," explains Ofir Herbst, chairman of Django Connectivity, adding: "Forgetting children is a critical event that needs to be resolved."

Identify the driver's condition.

Django Connectivity,

Ministry of Transport response

"In accordance with the government's decision to promote legislation that reduces the regulatory burden, the Ministry of Transport will recommend to the Economics Committee to abolish the obligation to install child prevention systems in vehicles in the face of uncertainty about their effectiveness, Safety systems that have not yet been proven to be effective can create a false sense of security, and remove drivers from personal responsibility for performing daily actions to prevent children from being forgotten in the vehicle.

"The ministry will continue to work to raise awareness to prevent children from being forgotten in the car, through a public information campaign and encouraging the use of a variety of technological and other solutions that will help prevent the next tragedy."

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Source: israelhayom

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