Push For Safer Power Windows

Power windows that can trap small hands and heads can lead to children's deaths, say consumer advocates who want U.S. automakers to install devices that will keep kids safe.

Kids and Cars, Public Citizen and others are launching a campaign Tuesday for window switches that are harder for children to hit accidentally and windows that stop closing if something gets in their way.

"We're showing over 58 children have been killed this way," Janette Fennell, president of Kids and Cars of Kansas City, Kan., told CBS News Correspondent John Hartge.

"What happens with the rocker and the toggle switches is it's very easy to inadvertently knock that switch and then the window goes up," she said.

Automakers can prevent this easily, Fennell said.

"We're trying to send a message to Detroit and say 'You know what? You can design out this problem' if they just switch all of their vehicles over to these pull-up/push-down switches," she said.

Kids and Cars has documented 23 deaths from power windows since 1993, but says the total could be much higher. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is studying the problem and plans to release preliminary data on deaths this fall, spokesman Rae Tyson said Monday.

Kids and Cars plans to file a petition with NHTSA asking the agency to require safer power windows. The group also is running public service announcements.

The campaign doesn't target European or Japanese automakers, which have long included safer switches as a standard feature. Most European cars also have windows that automatically stop closing, according to Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG said they have safety features in place, including driver-operated lockout switches on all vehicles that prevent children from using windows in the back seat.

They also said any deaths due to power windows are a tragic reminder that children shouldn't be left unsupervised around vehicles.

"We shouldn't leave children alone in vehicles with the keys. That's the only way power windows can operate," GM spokesman Jim Schell said.

Fennell agreed parents have a responsibility, too.

"Make sure that all fingers and hands and arms are inside before the windows go up," she said.

GM is putting European-style switches in new models, such as the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu, Schell said.

Some vehicles — such as the Ford Focus — have power windows that automatically stop on European models but not on U.S. models, Kids and Cars said. Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley responded that the more advanced power windows are available as an option on U.S. models.

Many European and Japanese vehicles also have switches that are flush with armrests and must be pulled up to raise the window. Those switches are generally considered more difficult to operate inadvertently than the rocking switches more common in U.S. vehicles.

DaimlerChrysler spokeswoman Ann Smith said the company is phasing out the rocking switches or putting them in the center console where they are more difficult for children to reach.