Every year dozens of children become a hot car death statistic after being left or stuck in a car on a hot day. And the number has been increasing in recent years.
The parked car quickly captures the heat on a warm day, causing the temperature to spike to 130 degrees fahrenheit or higher. Children who are exposed to these extreme temperatures 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?
For more information or to help facilitate reminder systems being installed in new cars, visit Kids and Cars. And 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 2022 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.
