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Alicia Hamrick
Prof Alicia Bolton
ENG 101
8 April 2013
Annotated Bibliography: Steven Casey’s “A Kid in a Car”
Since the invention of motor vehicles, there have always been issues with safety. With
manufactures claiming to design the latest and safest features for vehicles people assume they are
in good hands when it comes to the family car. Even the government has placed guidelines and
regulations for automotive manufactures to follow. But as Steven Casey reveals in “A Kid in a
Car” the manufactures will try and prove their features are reliable as long as they are used
correctly instead of preventing the issue all together.
Unfortunately, many children die each year due to safety features malfunctioning or the
absence of a feature, just as in two-and-a-half-year old Zoie Gate’s case. The manufacture of her
father’s Ford truck felt that there was no need to change the automatic feature on the power
window, since it only worked when the keys were placed in the ignition and in the on or
accessory position. Government regulations state the force of an automatic window should not be
able to sever a limb. But as little Zoie stretched out of the truck window her knee pressed the
rocker switch causing it to shot out catching her between the neck and chin taking her body up
with the window to the top pressing her neck as the lower portion of her skull against the upper
frame of the door crushing her esophagus. Her little body was no match for the powerful window
and instantlyshe died not making a sound. Her father, who was only a few feet away, attempted
to save his little girl. Sadly, poor Zoie’sdeath could have been prevented if the Ford manufacture
would havechanged the design of the automatic power window switch. Or even use the feature

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that mainly upscale foreign cars use where if the window comes in contact with anything it
automatically goes back down. Small things can make a difference!
I hope that my research paper not only encourages manufactures to reconsider what they
call safe, but educates parents the need to be more careful no matter how safe a product claims to
be and always take proper precaution.
Brown, David. "How Kids Get Hurt." Washington Post. 23 Dec 2008: n pag. SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 25 Mar 2013.
Reporter David Brown expresses in the article “How Kids Get Hurt” that the rate of
unintentional injuries are far too high, “with 2,270 per day will at least 1,000 could have been
prevented”. Although that’s is an overall estimated of injures not just vehicle related fatalities,
the thought of losing a child is hurriedness, but knowing it could have been prevented is heart
breaking. Also Brown goes on saying that “For all children older than 1, motor vehicle-related
injuries are the leading cause of unintentional death”, most of which are because of improper use
of child restraints.
As a reporter for the Washington Post David Brown uses several staticanalyses to support
his argument, it is clear he has done a lot of research on the issue. He also expresses that several
factors have an impact on preventable injuries of children, such as age, race, ethnicity, economic
status, and location. For example, Native American children have twice the death rate as Non-
Native American children, mainly because they mostly reside in rural areas and are subjected to
poverty.

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I will attempt to use this article in my essay to support my thesis, using statically analysis
that prove the dangers that our children come in contact with. Especially the unforeseen dangers
of automobiles even in our own driveways.
"Injuries and Deaths Among Children Left Unattended in Or Around Motor Vehicles."
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (5 July 2002): 570. Academic OneFile. Web. 25
Mar. 2013.
Mostly static analyses the article elaborates on the findings of government research and
backs up the research of KidAndCars organization. It includes findings from both nonfatal and
fatal non-traffic motor-vehicle related incidents.
Since most motor vehicle related child injury occurs right at home the findings are not
excluding the most common mishaps. “The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission collects
data annually on approximately 500,000 cases from a nationally representative sample of 65
hospital ER’s in the United States.” Although that seems to be a lot of data collect it is not near
enough data collected, especially considering the number of children that live in this country.
I will be incorporating this resource into my argument. Since there is not enough data
collected and the injury rate seems so high I feel it will show that there is a serious issue
concerning child safety and motor vehicles.
Settle, Miriam Bachar, Susan Crites, and Price. Complete Idiot’s Guide to Child Safety. Alpha
Books, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 5 April 2013.
In the eBookComplete Idiot’s Guide to Child Safety, the authors discuss the issue of
proper use of safety features such as air bags and car seats. “Since January 1998, consumers have

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been allowed to install an on/off switch for their air bags if they meet certain criteria. One of
these is the need to transport a child in the front seat because the vehicle has no back seat” (Settle
128).This would not be an issue if consumers would remember to switch them back on when an
adult passenger rides in the front seat. As for the purchase of a safety seat consumers need to
consider the vehicle it will be placed in as well as the proper fit for the child. For example, the
authors discuss how to properly position an infant in their seat in the case they are too small by
placing a rolled up blanket around them. The reason for this is to help with impact in the case of
an accident. Also it’s better in the case the weather is cold to place a blanket around the child
once harnessed in the set rather than wrapping the child before placing them in the seat (127).
This prevents the harness from fitting the child snuggly.
The authors use information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to
help provide tips for consumers when purchasing a vehicle that needs to be safe for a child. As a
parent I have encountered several of the issues discussedconcerning car seats for my children.
Also I recently had a recall on my 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan concerning the airbags. The recall
stated that it could deploy unexpectedly. That’s a scary thing especially since my teenagers
would drive the family occasionally. I have recently traded the vehicle at a dealership because
although the manufacture was whiling to fix the problem it was not a risk I was whiling to take. I
believe because my own personal experiences that support everything the authors discuss in this
section of the eBook prove they are a reliable source.
I plan to use this eBook in my research paper to support my topic of child safety. The
personal examples I have provided while support all of the information they have provided. In
addition, readers while be able to feel confident in what they are reading.

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U.S. Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Quick
Reference Guide (2010 Version) to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and
Regulations. Washington, D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2011.
14. Web, PDF File. 2 April 2013.
The book, Quick Reference Guide to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and
Regulations, states a simple version of the governments more elaborate regulations of motor
vehicles. The issue I stayed focused on was “Standard No. 118 Power-Operated Window,
Partition, and Roof Panel Systems”. It specifies the requirements for these systems to prevent the
likelihood of death or injury.
This is a government source that all manufactures must abide by to keep vehicles
functioning safely; therefore it has provided me with the actual regulation to keep a child safe in
and near a vehicle.
I will be using this as my book source to support my counterargument that manufactures
and the government needs to do more to keep vehicles safe.
“Zoie Beth Gates.” Kids and Cars.org. KidsAndCars.org Canada, 2013. Web. 4 April 2013.
The article “Zoie Beth Gates” is the foundation by which Steven Casey wrote “Kids and
Cars”. It is more in-depth about her life and the incident that took the life of this innocent child.
The organization KidsAndCars.org has developed the site to help parents see the dangers that lie
not only in the vehicle while on the road but also in the driveway. Zoie’s parents, Britt and Jay,
express their curiosity of why the manufacture did not change the power window switch or why
was another safety feature not put in place to prevent this from happening.

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In my research I have found this to be a valid organization that is attempting to educate
parents and protect children from unknown dangers associated with motor vehicles. The founder
of the organization,Jeanette Fennell, has been advocating for victims and their families of vehicle
related tragedies since 1995, after a personal tragedy. Her persistence led to the federal
government issuing a regulation to put internal trunk release latches on vehicles manufactures
after September 1, 2001.
I plan to use the information to help elaborate on Zoie Gates story as well as going into
the dangers of something some have never considered being a danger.