Safety warning after boy dies in car

The National Safety Council has reissued a warning to parents about leaving children unattended in cars after a three-year-old boy was killed in north Dublin when his head got caught in an electric window.

A spokesman for the council said it did not wish to add any further to the grief of the family involved but its advice to parents was never to leave a child unattended in a car "even for a short period of time".

The Irish-born child of Romanian parents was killed in the freak accident in Swords, north Dublin, on Monday evening. It is understood he hit the window switch while playing in the car and got his head caught as the window closed.

Gardaí and the Dublin Fire Brigade were called and an ambulance took the boy to Temple Street Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. A spokesman for the Garda said it would be investigating the incident for a coroner's inquest but there was nothing sinister in the case.

A spokeswoman for National Car Testing Services confirmed there was no obligation on vehicles to have an automatic retraction mechanism on electric windows. She said the only related requirement was for the driver's window to be functioning properly so the driver can make hand signals.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said the safety of electric windows may be reviewed by the independent Driver Testing and Standards Authority, due to be established before the end of the year. The authority will have responsibility for driving and vehicle standards in the State.

However, the spokesman pointed out, "many of these standards are dictated by Europe". In the US, at least 25 children have died over the past decade from injuries involving electric windows in cars, according to American safety campaigners.