How To Prevent Hot Car-Related Deaths And Injuries

About 40 children die in hot cars every year in the United States, and there have been at least 940 child hot car deaths since 1998, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Sometimes, parents are simply preoccupied and forget that their child is in the backseat. According to NHTSA, 53 percent of hot car deaths happen for that reason; 46 percent of deaths happen because a caregiver meant to drop the child off at daycare or school. Often, it doesn't appear to be a lack of care — simply a terrible oversight.

Hot car deaths are most common on Thursdays and Fridays, according to the NHTSA. The end of the work week, when parents and caregivers tend to be the most stressed, is also typically when memory and focus are at their shortest.

Cars get hot in cool weather

A car that's not running and in direct sunlight can heat up fast — as much as 20 degrees in just 10 minutes. And it doesn't have to be balmy outside for this to happen. Even if it's just a comfortable 80 degrees, the interior of a car can hit 109 degrees in 20 minutes. That's hot enough for a vulnerable infant's body to succumb to heat stroke or other heat-induced injury. In an hour, it can reach 123 degrees, which could severely injury anyone.

But a child's body heats up three to five times faster than an adult, so it's a lot easier for them to be impacted by a hot environment. Children have died of heatstroke in cars when the outside temperature was only 60 degrees, according to Kids and Car Safety. The majority of hot car child deaths involve a child under the age of two, which makes sense considering a younger child's body is usually more vulnerable.

According to experts, cracking a window does next to nothing to reduce the climbing temperature inside a car. This is why you should never leave a child alone in a car for any amount of time, no matter the outside temperature. The same goes for pets.

Preventing hot car death and injury

Make it a habit to always check the backseat of your car when you park. And don't just glance back, get out and look through the passenger windows since many carseats are rear-facing and it can look like no one is sitting back there from the driver's seat.

Put your baby's diaper bag in the front seat as a visual cue to help you remember.

Announce who is taking each of your children out of the car or putting them in, so that others around you, like a fellow parent or caregiver, remembers.

If you're feeling particularly stressed and worried you might forget your child, try to run errands from your car by using drive-thru services.

Keeping children from getting in cars on their own

Always make sure your car is locked and clear of kids (yours or someone else's) before you walk away from it.

Ask your neighbors to do the same with their cars.

Keep car keys out of reach of children.

If a child goes missing, check floors and trunks of every nearby car, regardless of whether or not they're locked.

If you see a child alone in a car on a sunny day, make sure they're okay, and check around for their parent or guardian. Have the adult paged if you're near a large store or parking lot with an intercom. If a parent or guardian can't be located, call 911.

If the child is unresponsive or seems to be in distress, call 911, and try and get into the car any way you can.

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