On average, every ten days, a child dies from heatstroke in a vehicle — mostly by accident when someone forgets the child is in the car.
It’s an alarming statistic from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Because this could happen to anyone, we’ve got an important warning that everyone needs to hear, especially this time of year.
Hot car deaths happen all too often, leaving traumatic scars in their wake.
In most cases, the child was unintentionally left inside the vehicle, often with a family’s change in routine. But how can it happen?
“We have powerful brain autopilot brain memory system and gets us to do things automatically and in that process we lose awareness of other things in our mind, including that there’s a child in the car,” said Dr. David Diamond, Professor of Psychology at the University of South Florida.
Even on days with mild temperatures, the heat inside a vehicle can reach dangerous levels within an hour, posing significant health risks to small children or pets left inside.
“Children aren’t able to efficiently regulate their body temperature and their bodies can heat up three to five times faster than adults,” said Dr. Emily Thomas, PhD, with Consumer Reports Auto Safety.
One new safety tool: Some car manufacturers have introduced technology that goes beyond just reminding drivers if they leave something behind in the back seat.
“This new technology could actually detected an occupant,” said Thomas.
But this advancement is not widely available. Consumer Reports advice for all parents: Create a routine with your own reminders every time you drive.
“You should create a habit of putting a personal item in the back seat, like your laptop or your phone. This will force you to visit the back seat after every trip,” said Thomas.
“Some people go so far as to say put a shoe in the back seat…give yourself a cue so that when you get out of the car you have that reminder!” said Dr. David Diamond.
It’s an easy behavioral change – enough to trigger the brain to do something different–that could save a life.