Trunk Entrapment

Since 1970, 1,250 people have been victims of trunk entrapment. Victims of trunk entrapment fall into two categories: people who are intentionally locked in a vehicle in a criminal incident and people, usually children, who unintentionally lock themselves in a trunk. Unintentional entrapment occurs during children's games or exploration. The average age of the 37 children who have died since 1970 were four or younger. The cause of death is usually heat related as trunk temperatures can reach 172 degrees in the summer.

The fix for trunk entrapment is an interior trunk release device. Patents for this device date back to the 1950's. The NHTSA had even considered an inside trunk release but denied requiring such devices in the 1970's after the vehicle industry argued that such incidents are rare.

In 1998, the Center for Disease Control reported that between 1987-1998, 19 children died in car trunks. After learning of the CDC numbers, the NHTSA commissioned a study on the benefits of an interior device to release the trunk lid. The NHTSA's expert panel recommended that trunk release devices would increase safety. In commending the expert report, NHTSA's Director indicated that "the Department holds safety-especially the safety of young children-as its highest priority. In October, 2000 the NHTSA announced that all passenger cars with trunks must have a release or other automatic system inside to allow people to escape effective September 1, 2001. In announcing the new standard, the NHTSA noted that "there have been too many deaths of children caught in trunks in hot weather with no way out-this will provide them a means of escape."

Even though the interior trunk release glows in the dark, some children will panic and will never pull the release handle, others will be too small to pull the handle. As a first line deterrent, children should not be able get into a trunk in the first place. For example, most vehicles today allow the trunk to be opened without the use of a key. Hence, the vehicle keys can be locked away yet the trunk can still be opened. Vehicle manufacturers should require that the only way a trunk can be opened is with a key. This would eliminate the opening of the trunk in the first place. As for seats that can be laid down so that there is pass - through between the rear seat and the trunk, the locking mechanism for the rear seat should be found in the trunk.

The interior trunk release will save lives. However, others will be lost because the trunk could be opened without a key. Convenience must take a backseat to safety occasionally. As such, trunk designs should prevent access to the trunk.