We hear about it every year. Tragic and avoidable deaths that happen when an infant is left unattended in a hot car. These accidental deaths usually happen as a result of an overly busy schedule, a change in the daily routine, a distracted parent, or all of the above.
In fact, an average of 38 children under the age of fifteen die every year from vehicular heatstroke as a result of being left in or gaining access to, a hot car.
The questions are: how do you prevent this from happening? What can you do to ensure that you never leave a child alone in a hot car? If there were easy answers to these questions we wouldn’t have the number of hot car deaths that we currently do.
Educating individuals about the dangers of a hot car is a step toward prevention. This article will explore how both education and awareness can go a long way reducing the number of these terrible hot car deaths. We’ll also look at how technology and lifestyle habits can help with car death prevention. By the end of this article, you’ll have a better idea of the things you can do to prevent these accidents from happening in the future.
Cars Get Hot Surprisingly Fast
While most hot-car deaths are a result of a distracted parent or caretaker, it’s important to note that your child is one of those things that shouldn’t be left in a hot car under any circumstances for any period of time. The fact is that cars get extremely hot surprisingly fast. Plus, there are times when our five-minute errand turns into twenty-five minutes, through no fault of our own.
Factors like the color of a car affect the temperature inside, as well as whether the windows are tinted, ambient temperature, and whether the car is parked in the shade or direct sunlight. But, even if it’s not a hot day, you park your white car in the shade, and your windows are tinted, internal temperatures can still get hot enough for heatstroke in 30 minutes, and sometimes within as little as 10 minutes. It is better to not take the chance at all.
Hot Car Death Prevention
There are several steps you can take in order to prevent leaving your child in a car unattended. Most hot-car deaths happen when there is a disruption in your normal schedule or an unforeseen problem that you have to deal with. Our lives are increasingly busy, and we can’t predict everything, but we can have a plan in place for when things get a little crazy.
Make a Plan With Your Partner/Sitter/Caregiver
It’s impossible to foresee when things will get busy or emergencies will happen. Which is why it is important to come up with a plan when everything is calm and normal. Whether you are raising a child with a partner, or have the help of a babysitter, family member, or another caregiver, it’s imperative to have a plan in place.
Something as simple as checking in with a text or a phone call to make sure the child has been dropped off or is otherwise accounted for. When your schedule suddenly changes and your routine is interrupted, you should know exactly who is responsible for the child, and who has the responsibility of checking on that person.
If you don’t have anyone in the immediate vicinity to help you with this, make a phone call to a family member or friend and ask them to check on you at a certain time. This serves as a reminder so you don’t forget about your child on a busy day.
Put Your Wallet, Purse, Briefcase, or Shoe Next to the Child
This may sound a bit silly, but it does work. When you don’t have to look in the back seat for things you normally need during the day, you’re more likely to end up unknowingly leaving a child there. So, when you load your child into the car, simply put an important item (yes, even one of your shoes) next to the child so you’ll be forced to check the back seat whenever you get where you are going.
Don’t Depend on Your Mind
Many of us tend to think that it would be impossible to leave our child unattended in a car. In fact, every single parent who has lost a child this way has probably thought the same thing. The fact is that none of us are immune to these lapses in memory. It doesn’t make is a bad parent, it simply makes us human. And being human, we sometimes need help remembering important things during the course of our increasingly busy lives. This is why you should set aside time to make a plan for ensuring that you don’t leave a child unattended in a car for any amount of time.
Make a Durable Reminder
It wouldn’t take long to make a reminder of sorts from simple items found in your home. A slightly oversized keychain can serve as a reminder to check the back seat. Or, a colorful laminated sign that you put on your rearview mirror, interior car door handle, or hang from your car’s dashboard. The problem with these things is that they tend to blend into your environment after a little while, but they can help you get into the habit of checking your back seat every time you do notice them.
Hot Car Death Prevention Devices
In addition to having a standing plan to ensure your child’s safety, there are several options available that can remind you that your child is in the car.
Elepho eClip Baby Reminder
The Elepho eClip Baby Reminder works in combination with an app on your phone to alert you that your child is still in the car. It has a proximity device that will cause an alarm to go off on your phone once you get a short distance from your car. It also has a temperature monitor so you know how warm or cool it is for your child in the back seat while you’re driving. This device does take batteries and also depends on you remembering to turn on the app.
Ride-N-Remind Backseat Reminder System
For a more permanent solution, the Ride N Remind System uses your car’s existing door sensors to remind you that someone is in the back seat. The system is triggered when one or both of the back doors are opened shortly before the ignition is started or while the car is running. When you shut off the engine a chime sounds to remind you to check the back seat. This system does require professional installation but doesn’t require you to remember anything else for it to work. Simply get it installed and it does the rest for you.
Evenflo Advanced SensorSafe Epic Travel System
There are a few car seats on the market with built-in child-reminder technology. This car seat and stroller set by Evenflo not only alerts you if your child unbuckles their car seat harness, but also reminds you that there is a child in the car seat once you’ve reached your destination. If you’re searching for a car seat, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Conclusion and More Resources
No matter how you go about it, you should have a plan in place to ensure your child’s safety. Whether you purchase a device, make a reminder for yourself, or leave important items in the back of your car as a reminder, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
All it takes is one time for tragedy to strike. An average of 38 deaths a year is 38 too many. So sit down with your partner, family members, and baby sitter to talk about the ways in which you’ll prevent hot-car deaths.
For more resources and some training videos on preventing hot-car deaths, visit the National Safety Council’s website and noheatstroke.org.