NHTSA warn of hot car deaths

Hot car deaths don’t just occur in the summer heat.

(Story Courtesy of Kentucky Today)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – With warmer weather in the forecast over the next week, it’s time to remember that around 40 children a year die from heatstroke, either because they were left or became trapped in a car.

That works out to about one child every 10 days killed in a hot car.  So far this year, safety officials say four children have died due to being forgotten in parked cars.

Information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that just over half of hot car deaths, 53%, happen because someone forgets a youngster in a car.  You may be asking yourself: How does this happen?  Families who lost a loved one thought the same thing at one point, but then the tragedy happened to them. 

Hot car deaths don’t just occur in the summer heat.  On average, the first vehicular heatstroke of the year happens in March, according to Jan Null, who has been tracking such deaths since 1998. Among the trends he discovered over the years:

--About 46% of the time when a child was forgotten, the caregiver meant to drop the child off at a daycare or preschool.

--Thursdays and Fridays have had the highest deaths.

--54% of the deaths are children under 2 years old.

While all types of hot car deaths are preventable, one cause of these deaths, knowingly leaving a child, is the most preventable.  Never leave a child alone in a parked car.  Rolling windows down or parking in the shade does little to change the interior temperature of the vehicle.  A child’s body temperature can rise three to five times faster than an adult.

If you see a child alone in a vehicle, make sure the child is okay and responsive.  If not, call 911 immediately.  If the child appears to be okay, attempt to locate the parents.  If at a public place, have the facility page the car owner over an intercom system.

But if the child is not responsive and appears to be in distress, attempt to get into the car to assist the child, even if that means breaking a window.  Many states have “Good Samaritan” laws that protect people from lawsuits for helping a person in an emergency.

Remember: Children and hot cars can be a deadly combination. Don’t take the chance. Always check the front and back seats of the vehicle before locking the door and walking away.