Dangers To Children In Hot Vehicles

Last updated on Monday, May 25, 2015

(UNDATED) - Summer hasn’t even arrived and already this year two children have died from heatstroke in vehicles.

KidsAndCars.org, American Gaming Association, Congressional Fire Services Institute and other national safety groups are joining forces are raising awareness to prevent child heatstroke deaths in vehicles.

Even very responsible parents can unknowingly leave a child in a vehicle.

"The worst thing any parent or caregiver can do is think that they could never unknowingly leave a child behind in a vehicle," says Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, the only national nonprofit child safety organization working solely to prevent injuries and deaths of children in and around vehicles. "This can and does happen to the most loving, responsible and attentive parents," she added.

"With the weather heating up, we're taking every step possible to prevent children and seniors from being left alone in hot vehicles," said Chaka Burgess, Vice President of Government Relations at the AGA. "AGA is pleased to continue our partnership with Kids and Cars and expand our efforts to work with the fire community to advance our collective efforts."

Since KidsAndCars.org began tracking data, at least 748 children have died from heatstroke inside vehicles. An average of 37 children die every year from vehicular heatstroke (one every 10 days).

KidsAndCars.org is calling on the public to be prepared to take action to save a life.

If you see a child alone in a car; get involved. Protecting children is everyone's business.
Call 911
Get the child out of the car.*
Dampen the child with cool water (not in an ice bath) and get them to a cooler environment.

Safety Tips from KidsAndCars.org

Remember the following "Look Before You Lock" safety tips from KidsAndCars.org:
Make it a routine to open the back door of your car every time you park to check that no one has been left behind.
Put something in the back seat to remind you to open the back door every time you park - cell phone, employee badge, handbag, etc.
Keep a stuffed animal in baby's car seat. Place it on the front seat as a reminder when baby is in the back seat.
Arrange for your babysitter or child care provider to call you if your child hasn't arrived as scheduled.
Make sure children cannot get into a parked car:
Keep vehicles locked at all times, even in the garage or driveway.
Keys and remote openers should never be left within reach of children.
If a child is missing, immediately check the inside and trunk of all vehicles in the area very carefully.

KidsAndCars.org urges everyone to read Pulitzer Prize-winning article, "Fatal Distraction," by the Washington Post journalist, Gene Weingarten. This powerful feature is the best article ever written that explains how these heartbreaking and preventable tragedies can happen to anyone. For additional information, statistics and charts specific to child vehicular heat stroke visit http://www.kidsandcars.org/heatstroke.html. *A small window breaker and seat belt cutter, the resqme emergency escape tool is a valuable resource for these types of emergencies. Every driver should have one. The resqme tool hooks right on your keychain. KidsAndCars.org makes them available for a small donation. (http://www.kidsandcars.org/giving-tuesday.html)

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