ROME – The law exists, it’s called “Salva bambini” and it was passed in 2021. From March of the following year, fines were also imposed on motorists not equipped with “anti-abandonment” devices with children under the age of 4 on board. The penalties are the same as for not using seat belts or child restraint systems: from 81 to 326 euros and the loss of 5 driving license points.In the event of a recidivism within two years, the driving license will also be suspended from 15 days to two months.
But how many actually install it? And how many tragedies could have been avoided? In fact, the various existing systems signal child exit through visual, audible and tactile cues such as vibrations, which promptly (or are designed to) capture the driver’s attention both inside and outside the vehicle. Let’s see how they work.
Developed by the Bari-based company “Esperienza Made in Italy”, Babybeep consists of a universal cushion that can be placed on the seat of any car seat and connects to one or more smartphones via Bluetooth technology. When the child is placed on the seat, the device will emit a BEEP and the notification “The child is on board” will appear on the APP. If the driver leaves the car without taking the child with him, babybeep sends a notification to his phone via the servers of his own service center. If the driver does not respond to the notification within 2 minutes, the alarm is triggered by sending an SMS with the geographical coordinates of the smartphone to the contacts previously specified by the user in the configuration phase.
Then there’s Volvo bringing its technology to the table. The Swedish company has developed a new radar system whose sensitivity can also detect movements in the submillimeter range, for example that of a sleeping child. To ensure maximum coverage, radars were placed in the front, rear and even in the trunk. The best time to signal the presence of people in the passenger compartment is when we get out and lock the car. In this case, the system automatically prevents the doors from locking. by displaying a warning message on the center console screen. At the same time, the air conditioning remains active to improve comfort and, above all, to reduce the risk of hypothermia or heat stroke.
It’s called TIM BabyPad, the anti-abandonment device with Bluetooth, designed to detect the presence of a child in a car seat in the vehicle and developed in collaboration with Octo Telematics. The app connected to the TIM BabyPad detects the presence of the little one and when the parents get out of the car, the smartphone sounds an alarm. If the alarm is not deactivated, text messages will also be sent to previously assigned numbers with GPS coordinates to prevent dangerous situations.
