Hazards of Hot Cars

By Amy Watkins, MPH

The statistics are alarming: In the United States, around 40 children die from heatstroke every summer after being trapped inside hot cars. In more than half of these deaths, a parent forgot and unintentionally left their child behind in the car. Connecticut Children’s embraces every opportunity to raise awareness about the need to prevent such tragedies.

In collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the Connecticut Children’s Injury Prevention Center gets the word out through its “Where’s Baby? Look Before You Lock” campaign. The annual campaign includes billboard advertisements, digital advertisements, social media posts and a website featuring information about how to protect your family from experiencing a tragedy.

The temperature inside a car can quickly climb to greater than 100 degrees, even when outside temperatures are as low as the 70s. What many people don’t realize is that children overheat 3 to 5 times faster than adults because they are not as efficient in regulating their body temperatures.

When a person’s body temperature reaches 104 degrees, it is a medical emergency. Heatstroke is a cascading series of bodily failures that can cause dizziness, nausea, confusion and cell death. When a person’s body temperature reaches 107 degrees, vital organs such as the brain, heart and kidneys stop working which can result in severe injuries or even death.

No one thinks it will happen to them. Yet it does. Parenting can be exhausting, and it is easy to become forgetful, especially when there is a change in routine. For example, if you don’t normally drop off your child at daycare, leave something essential for your day in the back seat. Sleeping, rear-facing babies are silent and not visible, so take this extra step.

Here are four things you can do to prevent a heatstroke tragedy: