Safety Tip: Preventing Vehicular Heatstroke

Temperatures outside are rising, meaning busy hot summer days are well on their way! Along with the summer heat comes extra safety precautions, wearing sunscreen, drinking lots of water, pool safety, and car safety.

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The news is often filled with stories of young children being forgotten in the car. The latest story had a happier ending when the dad was able to call 9-1-1 as soon as he realized he had forgotten his little one in the car. Sadly, not every story ends happily. Every 8 days a child dies from vehicular heatstroke after being left in a car. In hopes of reducing this number, we would like to share the Safe Kids Campaign to ACT. 

A: Avoid heatstroke by never leaving your child alone in the car, not even for a minute. Interior temperatures can reach 131-172° F when it is 80-100° F outside. Parking in the shade and cracking a window do not protect children from heatstroke.  It is also important to keep your doors locked when you are not in it, so that children don’t climb in on their own.

C: Create reminders by putting something in the backseat next to your child such as a purse, cell phone, or briefcase. This is especially important when you are not following your routine.

T: Take action. If you see a child alone in a car, call 911. One call could save a life.

Here are some creative tips we found to help you to remember to beat the heat and check the back seat.

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• Put your left shoe next to your child. Chances are you won’t get very far without it.
• One mom in Kansas tied a tag to a stuffed puppy that says “Got Ethan?”. Every time she put her toddler in the car, the stuffed puppy moved from the empty car seat to the front seat where she will see it. 
• Create a “check the car seat” card. You can store the card in the empty car seat and then move it to hang from your rear-view mirror or to sit on your lap while driving with your child.
• Follow the “Look Before you Lock” campaign by making it a habit to always open the back door before leaving your parked car. 
• Make your own E-Z baby saver. 
• Check cars and trunks immediately if a child is missing.

Additional resources:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/enforce/ChildrenAndCars/pages/Unattend-HotCars.htm

http://www.kidsandcars.org/userfiles/dangers/heat-stroke/heat-stroke-fact-sheet.pdf