As temperatures rise, so does the risk of heatstroke deaths for children and pets riding in vehicles, warns AAA Northeast.
“It’s that time of year when parents and caregivers must ‘Look before they lock’, especially when summer temps rise,’ said Fran Mayko, AAA Northeast spokeswoman. “In recent years, hot-car deaths are all too common when stressed caregivers or those who experience changes in driving routines leave children inside hot cars.”
As part of its annual summer message, AAA urges anyone who finds a child or pet alone in a locked car to call 911 immediately.
On average, 38 children die in hot cars each year according to the www.kidsandcars.org website. To date, 5 children nationally have died in hot cars; in 2021, there were 23 deaths.
On a typical 80-degree summer day, a vehicle’s interior temperature shoots up 20 degrees in 10 minutes and reaches a deadly 109 degrees in 20 minutes. On hotter days, it’s common for car temps to reach at least 120 degrees. This can lead to heatstroke of children and pets whose body temperatures rise 3 to 5 times faster than those of adults.
Tragedies occur because of one of three scenarios, says Mayko:
- The caregiver “forgets” the child because of a change of routine.
- The child, without adult supervision, gains access to a vehicle and inadvertently is locked inside.
- The caregiver leaves children or pets in cars to run a “quick” errand.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has advocated for vehicle detection technology and despite the passage of his HOT CARS Act, he wants a stronger law. The existing act only requires an alert system, not audio/visual detection that can differentiate between a forgotten child and another object in the backseat, such as a bag of groceries.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Association of Global Automakers voluntarily has agreed to integrate basic “rear seat reminders” in vehicles by 2025 that alert drivers to check backseats for children and pets. Many large US and foreign automakers already have included this technology.
In addition, NHTSA has developed an awareness campaign to “look before they lock” and ask themselves “Where’s Baby,”