Never Leave a Child Alone in a Car… Even For a Minute!

Ever notice how your car can be nice and warm even on a cool day? But that cozy sun can quickly turn deadly for kids. Children’s small bodies heat up 3 - 5 times faster than an adult’s. Every year, children die from overheating in cars. A third of these deaths were children who were playing and got trapped in unattended cars. Be sure to lock your cars at all times – especially at home. And teach children to never play in parked vehicles. 

Below are some facts and simple tips to keep your child safe

1. Between 1998-2010, more than 494 children died from hyperthermia or heat stroke when unattended in a vehicle.
2. Warm weather states are at greatest risk but all other states, with the exception of one, have experienced deaths.
3. There is no safe way to leave a child unattended in a car- even for one minute.
   Children’s bodies heat up 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s.
4. It takes only 10 minutes for a car to heat up by 19 degrees and it continues to heat up quickly because of all the windows in a car.
5. To view a reenactment of a car heating up incrementally, go to www.ggweather.com then to the first bullet under “weather links.”
6. What can drivers do to offset this tragedy?
7. Dial 911 immediately if you see an unattended child in a car. EMS professionals are trained to determine if a child is in trouble.
8. Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even for one minute.  Leaving a window slightly open has no effect on the temperature in the vehicle.
9. Place a cell phone, PDA, purse, briefcase, gym bag or whatever is to be carried from the car on the floor in front of a child in a backseat. This forces the adult to open the back door and observe the child when they reach for their belongings.
10. Set your cell phone or Blackberry reminder to be sure you dropped your child off at day care.
11. Set your computer “Outlook” program to ask, “Did you drop off at daycare today?”
12. Have a plan that if your child is late for daycare that you will be called within a few minutes. Be especially careful if you change your routine for dropping off children at day care.
13. Teach children not to play in any vehicle.
14. Lock all vehicle doors and trunk – especially at home. Cars are not playgrounds.

Check vehicles and trunks FIRST if a child goes missing.

More information can be obtained at the following links.
Safe Kids Worldwide
www.safekids.org/nlyca
Golden Gate Weather
www.ggweather.com/heat
NHTSA
www.nhtsa.gov/Driving Safety/Child Safety/Keeping Kids Safe: Inside & Out
Harrison’s Hope
www.harrisonshope.org
Kids and Cars
www.kidsandcars.org