“These sense the presence of a child; they just don't do it
reliably enough,” said Kristy B. Arbogast, a researcher at the
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who tested the devices for
the federal agency. “While these devices are very well intended
and we do appreciate the manufacturers and inventors, we have
found a number of limitations in these devices,” NHTSA
Administrator David L. Strickland said. “We don’t think they can
be used as the only countermeasure to make sure that you don’t
forget your child behind in a car.” The three devices are the
Suddenly Safe Pressure Pad, the ChildMinder Smart Clip System
and the ChildMinder Smart Pad. There was no immediate response
from the three manufacturers. The NHTSA report said that, in
some cases, spilled liquids caused malfunctions, cellphone use
interfered with device signals, devices turned off and on during
travel and an improperly positioned child caused seat pads to
malfunction. “In sum, the devices require considerable effort
from the parent/caregiver to