Officials: Hot weather brings hot car dangers

Triple-digit temperatures this time of year means parents and caregivers need to remember the dangers of children getting heat stroke while left unattended in vehicles.

It only takes a second to check and make sure small children are out of danger.

Bev Kellner, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension family and community health program manager in College Station, said it’s important to remember that as temperatures increase, so does the likelihood of heat stroke and death for children left in hot vehicles.

Kellner said Texas leads the nation in child vehicular heat deaths, with 114 deaths from 1989 to 2017.

“This gave Texas the unwanted distinction of being first in the nation in child vehicular heat deaths,” she said. “And already this year, there have been seven such deaths in the U.S., with one of them in Texas.”

In Texas, a person can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor for leaving a child under age 7 alone in a vehicle for more than five minutes, according to kidsandcars. The site 19 states have laws regarding children being left in vehicles. Arkansas is one of the states with no law. But charges can result in cases where parents and caregivers are found to have caused reckless injury to a child.

Shawn Vaughn, spokesman for Texarkana, Texas, Police Department, said local police do not get a lot of calls regarding small children being left in hot vehicles. But if someone does see a child left in a car with the windows up and no engine running, they should call 911 immediately.

“That is something where we are going to drop everything and be there,” Vaughn said.

Kellner said in just 10 minutes, the temperature inside a vehicle can increase by almost 20 degrees.

“Temperatures in parked vehicles rise very quickly and a child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s, so the combination can be deadly,” Kellner said. “Hyperthermia, or heat stroke, can occur at body temperatures above 104 degrees and even mild exterior temperatures can pose a threat. And contrary to popular belief, cracking a window does little or nothing to dispel the heat from the interior of the vehicle.”

Because more than half of these deaths are due to caregivers forgetting they have a child in the vehicle, these deaths are entirely preventable if a few precautions are taken, Kellner said.

“The other side of that coin is making sure children cannot gain access to unlocked vehicles, as nearly one-third of these deaths are from children getting trapped inside an unlocked vehicle,” Kellner said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will conduct a child heat stroke prevention media campaign leading up to National Heatstroke Prevention Day July 31.

Kellner said to help avoid child vehicular heat deaths, parents and other caregivers should consider the following tips from Safe Kids and AgriLife Extension:

On leaving a child in a hot vehicle:

■ Never leave infants or children in a parked vehicle, even if the windows are partially open.

■ Make a habit of looking in the vehicle—front and back— before locking the door and walking away.

■ When parking a multi-passenger vehicle, make sure there are no children sleeping on the seats or hiding under them.

■ Put a purse, briefcase, gym bag, cellphone or another item that will be needed in the back seat to help ensure you look there before leaving the vehicle.

■ Set the alarm on your cellphone or computer calendar as a reminder to verify you have not left a child unattended in your vehicle.

■ If you see an unattended child in a vehicle, dial 911 immediately and follow any instructions provided by emergency personnel.

On children getting into parked vehicles:

■ Teach children not to play in and around vehicles.

■ Always lock vehicles, even when in the garage or driveway.

■ Never leave keys in the car and store them out of children’s reach.

■ Identify and use safe play areas for children away from parked or moving vehicles.

“Also, if a caregiver notices a child is missing, it’s always a good idea to make your vehicle one of the first places to look, including the trunk or storage area,” Kellner said.

She also noted other ways to help avoid children being accidentally locked in hot vehicles are to use drive-thru services when available and to pay for gas at the pump with a debit or credit card as opposed to going inside.

“We hope if people use these preventive measures we can avoid further needless child vehicular heat deaths,” Kellner said.