Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Every year dozens of children become a hot car death statistic after being left or getting stuck in a car on a hot day.
The parked car quickly captures the heat on a warm day, causing the temperature to spike to 130 degrees fahrenheit or higher. On a 70 degree Fahrenheit day, a car can heat up 19 degrees to 89 degrees in just ten minutes and up to 104 degrees in 30 minutes. Children who are exposed to these extreme temperatures for long periods can die of heat stroke.
These deaths are especially tragic because of how preventable they are. The caregiver almost never intends to harm the child. Most of the time they simply forget that their child is in the car; 24% occurred in employer parking lots while the parent was at work. Often there is a change in routine and the parent goes into auto pilot with their usual routine. Sometimes parents underestimate just how dangerous the heat is when they leave their child in the car “for a few minutes”. According to KidsandCars.org, a hot car death can happen even when outside temperatures are as low as 60 degrees.
This infographic reveals some of the most shocking statistics about hot car deaths. For example, did you know that the most dangerous month for kids in hot cars is July? Or that children who are less than one year old are most at risk? Some believe this is most likely because they are in a rear-facing car seat so you can’t see them in your rear-view mirror.
Kids and Car Safety has been working for decades advocating Congress to pass legislation to prevent hot car deaths. Finally, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed which mandates the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a safety standard that includes requiring hot car technology in all new vehicles. However, the implementation of the Federal Hot Car rule has been unacceptably delayed, missing the critical November 2023 deadline set by Congress.
For more information or to help facilitate reminder systems being installed in new cars, visit Kids and Car Safety. Share the infographic to spread awareness.
We’d love to hear from you: comment below on what you think about these hot car death statistics. Have you ever forgotten your child in the car, even if only to walk away a few feet and remember?
By Amie Durocher, Creative Director at Safe Ride 4 Kids and certified CPS Tech since 2004
Copyright 2024 Safe Ride 4 Kids. All rights reserved. You may not publish, broadcast, rewrite or redistribute this material without permission. You are welcome to link to Safe Ride 4 Kids or share on social media.
We originally published this post in July 2015. We redesigned the infographic with current statistics.
