Don't let private cars become deadly traps for children.

# Compiled from: Procuratorate Daily Justice Network, The Paper
 
# Recently, the incident of two boys found dead from suffocation in a car in Huadu, Guangzhou, has drawn high social attention. According to police reports, preliminary forensic analysis suggests that the two boys entered an unlocked car on their own and touched the central control door lock button, causing the doors to lock. Due to their young age and inability to escape, the two boys ultimately died.

 

 
Should the car owner bear responsibility?
Focus 1: The car owner did not lock the car door.
According to Article 6 of the Tort Liability Law: "A person who infringes upon the civil rights and interests of another through his fault shall bear tort liability."
 
The general elements of tort liability are four:
1. The actor performed a certain act;
2. The actor was at fault when performing the act;
3. The victim's civil rights and interests have been harmed;
4. There is a causal relationship between the act and the harm.
 
It is understood that the vehicle involved was parked in the owner's own yard. The owner indeed did not lock the car doors, and the two boys' ability to enter the vehicle was causally related to the unlocked doors. However, the key issue is whether the owner's failure to lock the car doors constituted subjective fault. According to the principle of fault liability, if the owner was at fault, they should bear tort liability. But a vehicle is not a highly dangerous object, and in this case, the owner had no duty of care to lock the car.
 
Focus 2: The vehicle was parked in the owner's own yard.
In this case, the two boys entered a private residence without permission and then entered a private car to play without authorization, which was inappropriate. Since the private residence is not a public place, the car owner was not obligated to exercise the duty of care required for parking in a public area. Therefore, the car owner had no subjective fault regarding the fatal outcome for the two boys and should not bear responsibility.

 

 
Under what circumstances should car doors be locked?
In February 2019, a man surnamed Chen from Guiping, Guangxi, parked his car on a basketball court without locking it. A mentally disabled teenager entered the car to play and died of suffocation. The court ruled that the car owner had a certain negligent management fault and ordered him to bear 20% of the compensation liability, while the guardian bore 80% of the responsibility.
 
Because a basketball court is a public place, any item placed in a public place requires the owner to fulfill necessary duty of care. When a vehicle is parked in a public place, there is a risk of personal injury if a child enters the car to play. The car owner failed to fulfill the duty of care for managing items in a public place and subjectively had some fault. Meanwhile, the parents failed to supervise and care for their child, making their supervisory negligence the primary responsibility.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
In my opinion, regarding the Huadu case mentioned above, whether the car owner parked the vehicle in a relative's yard or their own yard, it should not be considered a public place. Therefore, the car owner does not need to fulfill the duty of care required for public places. Thus, the car owner should not bear responsibility for the boy's death. However, in another scenario, if the car owner parked the car in a relative's yard and forgot to lock it, and the child involved was the relative's child, the car owner might bear some responsibility. Because the relative's child should have been safe playing at home, and the car owner's failure to lock the door created this unsafe condition, the car owner could be held liable.
 
I suggest that parents should educate their children not to enter cars or touch items inside without permission. At the same time, parents should also teach their children how to rescue themselves if trapped inside a car.
 
In recent years, as family lives have become more affluent, more families own cars. Many parents, for convenience, leave their children in the car while they run errands, a situation that occurs from time to time. Little do they know that studies show when the outdoor temperature reaches 35°C, after 15 minutes of sunlight exposure on a closed vehicle, the interior temperature can reach 65°C. In such a high-temperature, enclosed environment, even an adult cannot last half an hour, let alone a child with an underdeveloped body.
 
Such incidents should serve as a wake-up call for parents: children's playfulness is natural, and parents must fulfill their supervisory responsibilities to the fullest extent possible to keep their children away from misfortune.