Photo/Illutration A daikon radish is cut by a closing power window in a test by the Japan Automobile Federation. (Taken from a YouTube video)

Drivers are advised to be aware of the potential dangers power windows pose to young children after the accidental death of a 2-year-old girl in Tokyo's Nerima Ward on May 21. 

A woman in her 30s was driving her car when she noticed that her daughter, who was sitting in a child safety seat behind her, had her neck caught in the window.

She called police around 10:50 a.m. Her daughter was unconscious when she was transported to a hospital and was pronounced dead about an hour later.

The Metropolitan Police Department suspects that the mother mistakenly closed the window by operating a switch by the driver’s seat.

The mother said she opened all four windows for ventilation when she left her home, investigative sources said.

She told police that she thought she had later closed the three windows other than the one beside her daughter.

She also said that her daughter was not buckled in the child safety seat.

According to the Consumer Affairs Agency and other sources, more than 10 injuries to necks, faces, fingers and other body parts due to power windows have been reported over about 15 years since September 2009.

In one case, a small child’s finger was cut off when another child toyed with the window control switch. Both children were between the ages of 1 and 4.

A test conducted by the Japan Automobile Federation in 2017 found that an adult male in his 50s barely managed to stop a closing power window with a single hand.

A woman in her 30s failed to stop the window with one hand but succeeded when she used both hands. An 8-year-old boy was unable to stop the window even with both hands.

In another test, a daikon radish and a burdock were both sliced in half by a closing power window.

While some power windows are designed to stop moving upward when something is stuck in them, a different experiment showed that this safety function does not work when the windows are nearly closed.

According to a JAF official, to prevent accidents, it is important for drivers to buckle children properly into child safety seats and to use window lock features to prevent children from opening or closing windows.

“When the driver closes windows at the passenger or rear seats, he or she should fully check the safety of passengers and warn them,” the official said.

(This article was written by Arata Mitsui and Minami Endo.)

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