Dozens of children die in hot cars. Here’s how to avoid tragedy amid high summer heat
A car parked in the South Florida summer sun can feel like an oven inside, the air stifling and the seats and steering wheel painful to touch. Anybody who has ever opened a door here knows that.
Yet every year, children are left in cars, too often with tragic results. Just this week, a child died in Miami Gardens after accidentally being left in a sweltering vehicle for around six hours.
How, despite the danger, does it happen? The National Safety Council reports that over half of these tragedies occur when parents or caregivers simply forget that they left a child in the car. There is a common thread to many accidents.
“One of the biggest risk factors in these cases is a change in routine,” said Laura Dunn, highway safety specialist for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. “Nearly half of all the heatstroke deaths ... are when the child is supposed to be dropped off. That can be a really critical intervention point.”
Monday’s death was another to the nine reported heatstroke deaths in 2022 so far in the U.S. according to the safety council. Annually, on average almost 40 children under 15 die from being left in hot cars.
In Florida, the council reports that the total number of deaths since 1998 has been 99 — second only to Texas with 136.
According to Dunn, there’s no safe amount of time for a child to be left alone in a car, where the temperature can rise by 20 degrees in as few as 10 minutes. And young children are particularly vulnerable to heatstroke.
“These kind of injuries and deaths can happen even as low as 57 degrees,” Dunn said. “A child’s body temperature rises about three to five times faster than an adult and they’re less able to regulate their body temperature.”
There are a couple of steps to prevent such heart-breaking accidents:
▪ According to the safety council, the best way to prevent a death is to have a routine. Putting something like a purse, wallet, or even a shoe in the back seat will help you remember to take one more look before leaving your car.
▪ Another strategy Dunn recommends is keeping a stuffed animal or toy in the car, and putting it up front with you every time you have your child in the car with you.
▪ For schools and day cares, calling parents as soon as you notice a child is absent may cut down the time a child spends in the car. Dunn also recommends checking the parking lot to see if it looks like a child may have been left behind.
▪ Setting an alarm on your phone to remember to check the back seat is a good way to routinely take a look.
▪ For higher tech options, there are clips that connect to your smartphone that will remind you that your child is in the car and even gauge the temperature in the car.
If you do see someone else’s child unable to escape a hot car, Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles advises that you call 911 and try to get the child out, even if it means damaging the car. Florida’s Good Samaritan Act usually protects individuals from liability if the damage was done to save a life.
