U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut wants to prevent deaths of children left in hot cars, and helped include a safety provision in the bipartisan infrastructure bill awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate.
The bill will call for all new cars to have an alert that reminds a driver when the engine is turned off to check the back seats.
Blumenthal said the bill will make important strides to address tragic hot car deaths.
“Cars become death traps for small children in this kind of heat," he said. "They are accidents waiting to happen.”
Blumenthal said the device can save up to 40-50 lives each year.
Final passage of the legislation in the Senate is expected this week. From there it would move to the House, where speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she will not take it up until a $3.5 trillion spending bill passes the Senate.
