In recent times, the news has sadly brought us some cases of children who died after being forgotten in the car by their parents or by drivers. These are tragedies that shock us and make us wonder how it is possible to avoid such dramas.
Italy was the first country in the world to adopt a law to prevent the abandonment, due to dissociative amnesia, of children in baby carriers and car seats fitted in vehicles.
The anti-abandonment device is an alarm system that signals the abandonment of the child by means of visual or acoustic signals and sends a message or a call to the smartphone of the driver or of a family member. The device must activate automatically with every use, without any further action by the driver.
What the law says
The law provides that anti-abandonment devices may be integrated into the car seat, as standard equipment or an optional extra of the vehicle, or independent of both the car seat and the vehicle. Anyone who carries children under 4 years of age in the car without the anti-abandonment device risks a fine of €83 to €333 and the loss of 5 points from their licence. In the event of a repeat offence within two years, the suspension of the licence from 15 days to 2 months is also added.
Dissociative amnesia
This measure came into force in 2020 following some tragic news cases, to prevent the consequences of so-called dissociative amnesia.
Amnesia is the inability – total or partial – to remember experiences that are recent or distant in time. It is described as "dissociative" when it derives from a psychological disorder, rather than a physical one. The people affected by it are often unaware – or partially aware – that they suffer from this disorder, which can appear suddenly in situations of tension or physical and mental tiredness.
Dissociative amnesia occurs, in particular, when the brain switches from episodic memory to procedural memory, that is, when one follows an automated routine without paying attention to what one is doing. In this way, one can lose the memory of the child's presence in the car and carry out unconscious actions, such as getting out of the vehicle and closing the doors
There is more than one warning sign of being someone exposed to dissociative amnesia: stress and tiredness, difficulty falling asleep or concentrating, struggling to remember things, irritability, a tendency to “act on autopilot”. In these cases it is important to consult your doctor.
What features must an anti-abandonment device have?
- It must signal promptly the abandonment.
- It must activate automatically on use on every car journey and give confirmation that activation has taken place.
- It must emit visual and acoustic signals.
- It must not alter the type-approval characteristics of car seats and baby carriers.
- It must indicate the battery level, so as always to offer reassurance about its correct functioning.
Anti-abandonment devices are easy to find and to install, and can make the difference between life and death. Let us therefore not hesitate to equip ourselves with these systems and to spread the culture of prevention among our friends and acquaintances. Let us remember that our children are our most precious treasure and that they deserve all our attention and care.
