Hot Car Tragedy: Preventable Deaths of Innocent Children in Scorching Vehicles
In hot US regions, parked cars cook children left behind. 14 preventable children have died in hot cars this year. 1,000 children have died in hot cars in 30 years.
A Florida babysitter left a 10-month-old girl in a car. The vehicle’s 133 degrees killed the baby. Babysitter charged with child’s death.
Kids and Car Safety founder and president Janette Fennell lamented the constant loss of innocent lives. Despite efforts, many children have died in hot cars this year.
These heartbreaking incidents usually occur when parents or caregivers change their routine or miscommunicate about child care. Late discovery is common. Fennell warns against leaving children in hot cars.
Napping or playing kids can enter parked cars. Curiosity and innocence can kill when trapped inside. Some caregivers leave children behind for a quick errand. However, car heat can turn a harmless situation deadly.
This year’s heatwaves have made hot cars more dangerous for kids, seniors, and pets. Fennell warns that a car’s interior temperature rises dramatically within 10 minutes of engine off. Thus, even a brief car ride with a child is dangerous.
Fennell advises parents and caregivers on safety to prevent these tragedies. Diaper bags in the front seat help remember the child. Putting valuables like a phone in the backseat and exiting through the back door can save your life.
Caregiver communication is crucial. Notifying parents of late arrivals prevents abandonment. Fennell suggests keeping a stuffed animal in the child’s car seat and moving it to the front passenger seat as a visual reminder.
Volunteers in Montgomery County, Texas, sat in hot cars with heart monitors. The livestreaming phone overheated and shut down within minutes, emphasizing the danger.
Kids and Car Safety wants a federal law requiring car manufacturers to install technology that alerts drivers to living people in vehicles. Lifesaving technology.
Fennell emphasizes accidental hot car deaths. Routine changes and autopilot brains can cause heartbreaking tragedies. She urges empathy for these families.
To protect society’s most vulnerable, vigilance and prevention are needed. Preventable accidents must not kill children.
Our Reader’s Queries
How many children are left in hot cars each year?
29 children died from heatstroke in vehicles in 2023, but so far in 2024, no deaths have been reported. On average, 38 kids under 15 die each year from being left in a hot car. Since 1998, nearly every state has had at least one death from this tragic situation.
What is the number one death of children?
While firearm deaths among children have decreased, poisonings, including drug overdoses, have seen a significant 186% increase since 2000 and a 103% increase since 2019. The latest provisional CDC data from 2022 shows that firearms remain the leading cause of child deaths for the third consecutive year.
What happens to a child when left in a hot car?
A child can overheat fast when left in a car, and it can get really risky. Heatstroke kicks in at around 104 degrees, and at 107 degrees, it can be fatal. In 2022, 33 kids died from overheating in cars.
What happened in 1990 that makes it much easier to forget a baby in the car?
Twenty years ago, this was uncommon. However, in the early 1990s, safety professionals stated that front airbags on the passenger side of cars could be dangerous for children. They suggested that child seats should be relocated to the back of the car for added safety. Additionally, they advised that baby seats should be turned to face the rear in order to further protect young children.