It will likely hit 100-degrees in my hometown soon, so it is time for our annual reminder of the dangers of leaving children and pets in hot cars.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), vehicular heatstroke is one of the leading causes of non-crash, vehicle-related death for children 14 and younger in the United States. According to NHTSA, in 2023, 29 children died of heatstroke after being left in a hot car, down from 33 the year prior. Since 1998, when safety advocates first began tracking, vehicular heatstroke has killed more than 965 children.
To help prevent hot car deaths, this year NHTSA launched a new Stop. Look. Lock. prevention campaign designed to educate parents and caregivers about the dangers of heatstroke and to always check a locked car before leaving. If someone sees a child left in a hot car, they should immediately call 911. Vehicles can heat up very quickly, with temperatures rising 20 degrees in as little as 10 minutes, creating a deadly situation for a child locked inside.
“The inside of a vehicle is never a safe place for a child to play or be left alone, because hot cars can be deadly for children in a matter of minutes. No one wants to think they could forget their child, but the facts show it can happen to anyone. Our Stop. Look. Lock. campaign educates and empowers parents and caregivers to make simple changes to prevent unimaginable tragedies,” said Sophie Shulman, NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator.
Even on a cool, 60-degree day, a child can die in a hot car. Cracking the windows or parking in the shade does little to protect a trapped child, as children’s bodies warm three to five times faster than adult bodies.
The NHTSA cites the three main scenarios in which heatstroke occurs:
NHTSA data shows that approximately 58% of heatstroke deaths occur when the child is at home, followed by 23% of deaths occurring at a parent or caregiver’s work. Additional stats show:
NHTSA further reports that by the end of 2023, Texas and Florida had the highest number of child heatstroke deaths. Additional states at the highest risk for heatstroke deaths per capita are Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Arizona.
Absorb the numbers below. Each case ended with the death of a child and the planning of a funeral:
Many people often underestimate how quickly temperatures rise in a hot car. Internal vehicle temperatures can raise quickly and become up to 50 degrees warmer than the outside air temperatures. So even if it’s a cool day outside, a vehicle may still pose a threat to a child. A child’s body temperature increases 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s.
Average elapsed time and inside vehicle temperature rise compared to ambient outdoor temperature:
It is easy to see that while most think an 80 degree outside temperature is pleasant, in a short 30 minutes, the inside temperature of a car is 114 degrees.
Note this important fact: a body core temperature of 107 degrees is usually fatal.
This video demonstrates the temp inside of a car versus the outside ambient temperature:
Leaving a pet in a hot car can have catastrophic results, too. Although stats are not kept on animals dying inside hot vehicles, it is believed to be in the hundreds. Keep this in mind:
NHTSA urges all parents and caregivers to do these three things to help prevent child heatstroke:
If a bystander sees a child in a hot vehicle:
Warning signs of heatstroke include:
If a child exhibits any of these signs after being in a hot vehicle, quickly spray the child with cool water or with a garden hose — NEVER put a child in an ice bath. Call 911 or a local emergency number immediately.
For more details click here.