When my daughter came to visit and we rode in her rental car, she wondered why the screen kept saying she had people in the back seat.
It’s one of the new alerts to prevent drivers from leaving children and pets in hot cars.
It doesn’t happen frequently, but about 38 children die each year in hot cars.
The recent death of a three-year-old child in a hot car while in the care of a contractor for the Alabama Department of Human Resources has brought attention once again to this tragic problem. The child, who was in foster care, was left in a hot car for about five hours.
It’s a devastating loss and often occurs when a parent who doesn’t usually take the child to daycare, gets the assignment.
One suggestion for remembering the child in the backseat is to put your purse, briefcase, or cellphone in the back seat. That way, you’ll retrieve it – and the child or pet – before you leave the car.
Other tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention include:
- Never leave infants or children in a parked car, even if the windows are open. Even when it feels cool outside, cars can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly.
- Leaving a window open isn’t enough – temperatures inside the car can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes, even with a window cracked open.
- Children who are left unattended in parked cars are at greatest risk for heat stroke, and possibly death.
- To remind yourself that a child is in the car, keep a stuffed animal in the car seat. When the child is buckled in, place the stuffed animal in the front with the driver.
- Check to be sure everyone is out of the car when leaving your car. Don’t overlook any children who have fallen asleep in the car.
Additional suggestions from NoHeatStroke.org, a group that focuses on preventing the death of children in hot cars:
- Call 911 if you see a child unattended in a hot vehicle.
- Always lock your car and ensure children don’t have access to keys or remote entry devices.
- Teach children that vehicles are never to be used as a play area.
- Teach children that if they can’t get out of the rear doors, to try the front doors; and that failing to honk the horn to get the attention of others.
- Check the pool first and then the car, including the trunk, if a child is missing.
- Have a plan that your childcare provider will call you if your child doesn’t show up for school.
Since 1998, 1,026 children have died in hot cars due to pediatric vehicular heatstroke. All of these deaths could have been prevented.
