Don’t Leave Children Unattended in Vehicles
Average Annual Deaths Number 38
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – It’s hot outside. You get into your car and the first thing you do is crank up the AC. You get to the store and you just need a few things. So, you turn off the engine and lock the doors to get the items you need.
You’ll be back in just a few minutes but you run into an old friend and start chit-chatting. However, you left your kid in the back seat and the temperature in the car is starting to climb. All of sudden, you look up and see police cars and an ambulance near your car
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “In just 10 minutes, the temperature can rise by nearly 20 degrees inside a closed-up vehicle. Officially called ‘pediatric vehicular heatstroke’, more than 900 children have died of it since 1998. Each year, an average of 38 children die in hot cars – during the summertime – that’s almost two per week.”
On June 22, the day after the official start of summer, it was reported five children had already perished died in hot vehicles. Two of those were in the Houston area. One child was a 10-month-old girl while the other was a five-year-old boy.
The NHTSA reported over 900 children died of heatstroke since 1998 “… because they were left or became trapped in a hot car. It’s important for everyone to understand that children are more vulnerable to heatstroke and that all hot car deaths are preventable.”
Statistics reported by the NHTSA show:
- A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s. When a child is left in a hot vehicle, that child’s temperature can rise quickly — and they could die within minutes.
- Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees.
- A child can die when their body temperature reaches 107 degrees.
- In 2021, 23 children died of vehicular heatstroke.
- In 2018 and 2019, we saw a record number of hot car deaths – 53 children died each year – the most in at least 20 years, according to NoHeatstroke.org.
There are ways to prevent this type of tragedy, which include:
1. Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended — even if the windows are partially open or the engine is running, and the air conditioning is on.
2. Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle — front and back — before locking the door and walking away. Train yourself to Park, Look, Lock, or always ask yourself, “Where’s Baby?”
3. Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected.
4. Place a personal item like a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger’s seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.
5. Store car keys out of a child’s reach and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area.
Always lock your car doors and trunk, year-round, so children can’t get into unattended vehicles. If you see a child alone in a locked car, get them out immediately and call 911. A child in distress due to heat should be removed from the vehicle as quickly as possible and rapidly cooled.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
