Never Leave Children Alone in Vehicles June 25, 2008

"We have four solid months of hot weather in Texas and it's started early this year," says Juliette Brown, MHS, CHES, Injury Prevention Coordinator for Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. "Vehicles can heat up in just a few minutes, even during seasons other than summer, that's why it is especially important for the safety of children to never leave them alone in a vehicle.

June, July, August and September all might have temperatures as high as 100 degrees. In Texas, 42 children lost their lives in hot vehicles between 1998 and 2007 and four have died already this year according to the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University.

"Leaving a child in a vehicle for a quick errand can be unsafe and possibly deadly," continues Juliette. "Heat is much more dangerous to kids than adults. A young child's core temperature can increase three to five times faster than an adults. The result in some cases is permanent injury or death."

Researchers at San Francisco State University found that even with relatively cool weather outside, such as 70 degrees, the inside temperature in a vehicle can reach dangerous levels in just minutes.

Texas has a law making it an offense to intentionally or knowingly leave a child in a motor vehicle for longer than five minutes if the child is under 7 years old and not attended by someone else in the vehicle who is 14 or older. Juliette added that leaving a child alone in a vehicle for any amount of time is not only dangerous but is considered negligent behavior.

Checklist for Parents and Caregivers

According to Safe Kids USA, heat-related vehicle deaths in children fall into three categories:

Children trapped while playing in a vehicle without supervision.
Children intentionally left alone in a car.
Children accidentally left behind.

Safe Kids advice to parents and caregivers includes:

Teach children not to play in, on or around vehicles.
Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even for one minute or with the window slightly open.
Always lock a vehicle's doors and trunkespecially at home. Keep keys and remote entry devices out of children's reach.
Watch children closely around vehicles, particularly when loading and unloading. Check to ensure all children leave the vehicle when you reach your destination. Don't overlook sleeping infants.
Be especially careful if you're dropping off infants or children at day care and that's not part of your normal routine. Have your day care provider contact you if your child does not show up on a day they are expected.
Place something that you'll need at your next stop for example a purse, your lunch, gym bag or briefcaseon the floor of the backseat where the child is sitting. This simple act could help prevent you from accidentally forgetting a child.

Children Accidentally Left Behind

"Parents need to be especially careful when dropping off a child at daycare," continues Juliette. "One of the saddest stories I've heard was about a Dad who was taking his child to daycare, but it wasn't his usual duty. He had an important meeting at work and was thinking about the meeting the whole time he was driving. He never even went by the daycare center, forgot he had the sleeping child in the back seat, went to his meeting and only later discovered the baby was still in the car and had died."

Almost half the deaths over a ten -year period from 1998 through 2007 were young children who were left behind and died. The average age in those deaths was approximately 24 months.

"The last tip on the Safe Kids website is one of the most important - make sure you put something you need in the back seat. Many times young children fall asleep in the car and dont make a sound" she adds. "Our main message would be: NEVER leave your child unattended in a vehicle, even with the windows cracked," adds Juliette.

Additional Resources

Check out the following resources to learn more:

Safe Kids USA
Department of Geoscience, San Francisco State University
Texas DFPF "See and Save"
4 R Kid's Sake
Harrison's Hope
Kids and Cars

Safe Kids Austin

Safe Kids Austin is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, the nations first non-profit organization dedicated solely to the prevention of accidental childhood injury. Safe Kids Worldwide is made up of more than 450 state and local Safe Kids coalitions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Safe Kids Austin consists of more than 30 community, civic and state organizations. The Coalitions initiatives include classroom-based programs and educational events for families. The Coalition focuses on promoting safety in vehicles, around water, and while walking and biking.

For more information about Safe Kids Austin, please contact Tareka Wheeler, Coalition Coordinator, at twheeler@seton.org.

For more information on safety and injury prevention, visit Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas's Safety and Injury Prevention Web pages

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