out windows from activating the power window switch. Starting with the 2008 model year, U.S. government regulations required automakers to install safety mechanisms to improve child safety. However, the rules do not prevent all potential injuries to a hand, finger, or even a child's head, if someone deliberately holds the switch when the window is closing. In 2009, the U.S. auto safety administration tentatively decided against requiring all cars to have automatic reversing power windows if they sense an obstruction while closing. Proposed requirements concern automatic ("one-touch up") window systems, but most vehicles with this feature already have automatic-reversing. The federal government made a written contract that all automakers should make the lever switches (as opposed to the rocker and toggle switches) standard on all new vehicles by 1 October 2010. References External links Power Windows Are Perilous (CBS News) Fixing Power Windows Nice, Karim. "How Power Windows Work." 29 January 2001. HowStuffWorks.com Automotive electronics Car windows American inventions 20th-century inventions