While the start of summer is a time to look forward to barbecues, pool parties and time at the beach, a safety organization is raising the alarm of a devastating aspect of the season, an increase in the number of child deaths from being left in a hot car.
At least 16 children have died so far this year after being left for hours in hot cars, according to KidsAndCars.org, a non-profit advocacy organization for vehicle safety.
There were 43 child deaths because of vehicular heat stroke in 2017, with an average of 37 kids dying each year, the organization said Thursday.
“We know there are families all across America right now holding their precious babies, unaware that they will lose them in a hot car this summer,” Janette Fennell, KidsAndCars.org president and founder said in a statement.
“But, these children don’t have to die. Parents and caregivers have the power to make sure that this doesn’t happen to them.”
The organization pushes a message of common-sense habits to help prevent these types of death, which often occur when a parent or caregiver forgets that an infant or toddler is in a car-seat in the back of the vehicle.
One study found that vehicles can heat up to the point of being fatal for children in as little as under two hours. Most children found after being left in cars were typically there for between six and eight hours.
More important, however, is making legislation requiring technological solutions to alerting drivers of a child in the backseat.
The Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seats (HOT CARS) Act of 2017, introduced in June in the House and July in the Senate, would require the Department of Transportation to make technologies that alert drivers to backseat passengers mandatory in new cars.
Until then, KidsAndCars.org encourages people to “Look Before You Lock” to make sure a child is never left behind in the back seat of a car.
They urge parents to:
• 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 you need in the back seat to remind you to open the back door every time you park – cell phone, employee badge, handbag, work computer, etc. (The idea is if you leave the vehicle without this item, you would have to go back to get it.)
• Ask your babysitter or child care provider to call you if your child hasn’t arrived as scheduled.
• Keep a stuffed animal in baby’s car seat. Place it on the front passenger seat as a reminder when baby is in the back seat.
Because children have also been known to climb into parked cars and can accidentally lock themselves inside, KidsandCars.org urges drivers to keep their vehicles locked at all times, even in your garage or driveway and even if you do not have children.
They also caution that keys and remote openers should never be left within reach of children.
Finally, if a child is missing, immediately check the passenger compartment and trunk of all vehicles in the area very carefully.
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