Child Deaths From Hot Cars on the Rise

With all the stories in the news and using a little common sense, you’d think that we’d be hearing less about kids being left in locked cars during the summer. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. New information shows that the number of infants and toddlers deaths from being left inside hot cars is higher through the first half of this year than at any time since the statistic was first tracked in the late 1990s.

This year alone, 18 children have died of hyperthermia, eight of them reported since June 13. Sadly, many of these cases involved children who climbed inside an unlocked vehicle on a hot day and then couldn’t get out.

This information was complied by Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University, from data on the cases through media reports, which states that 37 children typically die each year from heat exhaustion in vehicles. The recent onslaught of deaths in June is disturbing, as July tends to be the most deadly month for children trapped in hot cars.

“These really are good parents who love these kids who make a mistake that turns out to be fatal,” said David Strickland, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The government’s highway safety agency issued a consumer advisory this week that included a warning for parents not to leave children unattended in or near a vehicle.

Although it may seem like common sense, it seems like adults need to be reminded to never leave their children in an unattended vehicle or allow kids to play in cars and trucks. Make it a habit to lock your vehicle doors once you park it, and keep your car keys in a safe place where little hands can’t reach them.

[Source: Kicking Tire]