News 12 Staff

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May 19, 2023, 5:41 PM

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Updated

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Sen. Richard Blumenthal is urging the Department of Transportation to move forward on requiring a lifesaving device to be installed in new vehicles.

Blumenthal made the announcement Friday and was joined by Lindsey Rogers-Seitz, the mother of a Ridgefield toddler who died in a hot car incident in 2014.

The two are pushing for the DOT to require all new vehicles be equipped with an alert for drivers to check the back seat after turning off the engine.

"The inside of the vehicle acts as a greenhouse and heats up very quickly," says Rogers-Seitz. "In fact, 80% of the increase in temperature happens in the first 10 minutes. On a day with 85-degree heat, within 10 minutes, the inside car temperature is 104 degrees."

Blumenthal is giving the DOT until November to implement the rule for all new vehicles moving forward.