Imagine being trapped in a car where the temperature has reached 115 degrees. You're left vulnerable to carjackers. If you're not delusional from the heat, maybe you can fight for survival.

But if you're a young child, you're at the mercy of your caretakers. And if they've left you alone, your only recourse is through laws designed to protect you.

Yet for the past five years, House Bill 356, which would make it illegal to leave children alone in vehicles, has been introduced by Rep. Marilyn B. Lee. And each time, it has failed to become law.

During those five years, a 10-month-old girl died after being left in a locked car in Kailua in 2003. There have been a few cases of children being left in the car who were driven away by carjackers. In 2005, a 2-year-old who was left in a car on Maui turned the ignition, crashing the car into a building and injuring a woman.

And on Saturday, 3-year-old Sera Okutani died after being left alone in a car for more than 1 1/2 hours.

Currently, police have two options when a child is found alone in a car: Locate the parents and issue a "scolding," or take protective custody of the child without court order.

In severe cases, the latter option is surely warranted. No parent or caregiver, under any circumstance, should leave a young child unattended, let alone in scorching heat.

What HB356 can do is serve as a deterrent. Offenders could be fined up to $500. This, however, is a pittance to pay considering the stakes.

But what could make a real difference is the bill's educational component, which would require driver's license tests to include questions about the dangers of leaving a child in the car. It would also require that all rental car companies post stickers in vehicles stating the law.

Parents and caregivers, no matter how rushed or harried, have the responsibility of keeping their children safe. It's a shame there must be a law to remind them of this.

It's an even bigger shame that the law wasn't passed five years ago.