Parents and caregivers be aware and always remember: Summer heat makes it especially dangerous to leave children in cars
July 2009

The risk of a serious injury or death during hot weather is especially high for children left alone in vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned parents and caregivers to always remember that leaving children alone or unattended in or around a car could be fatal or lead to serious life lasting injuries.

New research shows that for children hyperthermia (heat-stroke) is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle deaths.

According to Ronald Medford, Acting Deputy Administrator of NHTSA:

1. Even with the windows rolled down two inches, it only takes 10 minutes for the inside of a vehicle to reach deadly temperatures on a hot summer day
    
2. Children should never be left alone in or around a motor vehicle, not even for a quick errand. Any number of things can go critically wrong in the blink of an eye

Each year, 262 children under the age of 14 are killed and 115,000 are injured in not-in-traffic incidents on private roads, driveways and in parking lots according to a new NHTSA study.

Out of that number, 44 fatalities and 105,000 injuries are the result of non-crashes. These incidents include:

1.  Hyperthermia
    
2. Strangulation by power windows
    
3. Carbon monoxide poisoning and more
    
4. Many of the remaining deaths and injuries in not-in-traffic incidents are the result of a vehicle backing over a child that the driver did not see.

Safety tips from NHTSA to prevent hyperthermia include:

1. Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle.
    
2. Do not let your children play in an unattended vehicle. Teach them that a vehicle is not a play area.
    
3. Never leave infants or children in a parked vehicle, even if the windows are partially open or with the engine running and the air conditioning on.
    
4. Make a habit of looking in the vehicle - front and back - before locking the door and walking away.
    
5. If you are bringing your child to daycare, and normally it's your spouse or partner who brings them, have your spouse or partner call you to make sure everything went according to plan.
    
6. Ask your childcare provider to call you if your child does not show up for childcare. Do things to remind yourself that a child is in the vehicle, such as:
   
   -- Writing yourself a note and putting the note where you will see it when you leave the vehicle;
   
   -- Placing your purse, briefcase or something else you need in the back seat so that you will have to check the back seat when you leave the vehicle; or
   
   -- Keeping an object in the car seat, such as a stuffed toy. When the child is buckled in, place the object where the driver will notice it when he or she is leaving the vehicle.
    
7. Always lock vehicle doors and trunks and keep keys out of children's reach. If a child is missing, check the vehicle first, including the trunk.
    
8. If you see a child alone in a hot vehicle, call the police. If they are in distress due to heat, get them out as quickly as possible. Warning signs may include: red, hot, and moist or dry skin, no sweating, a strong rapid pulse or a slow weak pulse, nausea or acting strangely. Cool the child rapidly. Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.

Bibliography

1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
2. Transport Research Laboratory  
3. European Journal of Pediatrics