Car safety is one of the most important things we stress to our kids every time they step in and out of a vehicle. We ensure they wear their seat belts and don’t stick their heads or arms out of the windows or especially sunroofs.
There’s a very good reason why we do that: sunroof accidents can be devastating, even fatal. Unfortunately, in the case of this boy sticking his body out of a sunroof, it did not end well.
Boy sticks body out of sunroof, crashes into a sign
Image source: YouTube screengrab
A 13-year-old Chinese boy in Jiangxi, China, was spotted with his upper body sticking out of a car sunroof on an expressway, recently.
In the video taken by a passenger in another car, you can see the boy with his torso sticking out of the sunroof while the car was travelling on an empty expressway.
He crashed into a sign board and immediately slumped over.
The incident happened around 5pm on Sunday, October 28, in Xinyu city, reported Chinese media outlets.
Sunroof accidents: Boy died on the spot
Image source: YouTube screengrab
You can hear in the video shot by a passenger in another car that the passenger is bantering with who we assume to be the driver.
They were arguing about the legality of the boy’s actions and whether the driver would be penalised if caught.
They even wondered if the boy would hit the upcoming overhead signage, screaming in fear for his life. And alas, second later, their fear became a reality as the boy crashed into the sign and was killed on the spot.
The shocking video later shows the driver of the car making a phone call. The Paper.cn reported that the boy died at the scene.
Safety of sunroofs: Preventing sunroof accidents
Image source: Shutterstock
Sunroof accidents are more common than many think. This is why parents must ensure their sunroofs are always closed when the car is moving.
In December last year, netizens debated over a video of a young child in Singapore standing with his body sticking out of a travelling car’s sunroof.
While some said that they could see nothing wrong with the boy enjoying the breeze, others said it was dangerous for the boy to be doing so (and careless of his parents for letting him).
Car safety tips for parents
To prevent such an occurrence happening, parents, it is important that you practice car safety tips.
1. Make sure children ride in the backseat. The passenger seat is actually one of the most fatal positions in the event of a crash. The backseat is generally much safer. Plus, if your car comes with airbags, children should ride in back as the airbags could pose as a hazard.
2. Make sure their safety belt is put on the right way. Sometimes, when we’re in a rush, we might hastily put on our children’s safety belts, before rushing to our driver’s seats. We might have accidentally put it in the wrong slot or the wrong way around. So be sure to hear for the click, to be confident that your child is safely strapped in.
3. Keep your child lock on at all times. Most cars nowadays come with a child lock. This means if your child reaches out to try and open the doors or windows, they won’t open. This is important for every parent and should be one of the safety features in cars for parents to consider when buying a new car.
Accidents can be prevented if we take the right precautionary measures.
Source: Straits Times
Read more about car safety:
5-year-old girl dies after being left in locked car: an urgent safety reminder
Mum who took crying newborn out of carseat has important message for parents