Abstract
As one part of a three-part package to reduce the likelihood of children becoming inadvertently trapped in automobile trunks, an internal trunk release mechanism was developed that would be obvious to young children as a way to open a locked trunk from the inside. Eighty-one children between the ages of three and seven voluntarily entered several disguised automobile trunks that had been separated from the rest of the vehicles and instrumented with audio and video monitoring equipment. The children attempted to find a way out of the trunk with no instructions about how to accomplish the task. Nine different mechanisms ranging from pull cords to light switches and door handles were examined. The most successful mechanism was found to be a yellow, lever-type door handle. This paper describes the development procedure and the responses of the children to the different mechanisms.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.