With summer heat slowly creeping in, there is one important safety measure that people of all ages need to remember. It takes only a few minutes for a child, animals and even senior citizens to die of heatstroke after being left in a car, locked or unlocked.
From 1998 through May 1, 2020, 850 children have died from what is called pediatric vehicular heatstroke (PVH) after being locked in vehicles. This included a 4-year-old boy in Tomball, Texas, who died April 25 on a 78-degree day. Most of these deaths were children from ages 3 months to 6 years. But deaths related to car heatstroke can occur to children as old as 13.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, PVH occurs when a child's body temperature rises from 104 degrees up to 107, which is fatal. And cracking a window does not necessarily work to prevent the rising car temperatures.
From 1998-2020, Texas has seen the most deaths, with 127, while Alaska, New Hampshire and Vermont have had no reported deaths related to PVH. Arkansas has seen 17 deaths to date, with the majority of those deaths in Northwest Arkansas. On April 25, 1998, two infants, ages 4 months and 16 months, died of PVH in a car with the outside air temperature of only 77 degrees. It only takes 10 minutes for that temperature to rise into the 90s and 30 minutes to rise over 110 degrees.
In all, nine children, ages 4 months to 5 years, have died since 1998 in Northwest Arkansas, with Springdale accounting for four of those deaths, followed by Bentonville with three, one in Benton County and one in Fort Smith.
What accounts for so many child deaths from heatstroke in a locked car?
A little more than 50 percent of heatstroke deaths occurred when parents forgot about the child being in the back seat, while 26 percent were children who entered an unlocked car on their own. Unfortunately, 18 percent of PVH deaths were intentional.
Whether by accident or other cause, there are consequences for such actions. Depending on the state in which PVH occurs, the perpetrator can suffer fines and jail or prison sentences up to a year or more. Unfortunately, only 21 states have laws protecting children against PVH.
On June 29, 2017, the Weather Channel in Atlanta, Ga., launched what is called the "Scorching Car Scale" which "illustrates how temperatures in the interior of a car can drastically increase on hot days after a 10-minute and 30-minute window of time. By putting these dangerously high temperatures on display, the Weather Channel's Scorching Car Scale hopes to prevent unnecessary deaths of children and pets from being trapped in hot cars and to raise awareness of just how hot vehicle interiors can get after only a few minutes" (www.the weatherchannel.com/scorchingcarscale).
Two examples of the scale were Las Vegas and Chicago. In Las Vegas, the forecast high was 107 degrees. In a locked car, after 10 minutes, that temperature rose to 126 degrees and, after 30 minutes, rose to 141 degrees, which can be fatal to a child in 10 minutes or more. In Chicago with a forecast high of only 84 degrees, the temperature, after 10 minutes, rose to 103 degrees and, after 30 minutes, rose to 118 degrees.
The major auto manufacturers are working on ways to equip vehicles with safety alarms, including one that will emit a signal to check the back seat for children (and pets).
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration recommends the following steps that everyone can do to help prevent hot car deaths.
Parents and caregivers:
1. Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended -- even if the windows are partially open or the engine is running and the air conditioning is on.
2. Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle -- front and back -- before locking the door and walking away.
3. Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn't show up for care as expected.
4. Place a personal item like a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock.
5. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger's seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.
Everyone, including bystanders:
1. If you see a child alone in a locked car, get them out immediately and call 911. A child in distress due to heat should be removed from the vehicle as quickly as possible and rapidly cooled.
2. Always lock your car doors and trunk, year-round, so children can't get into unattended vehicles.
3. Store car keys out of a child's reach and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area" (www.nhtsa.gov).
Parents need to be mindful of where their children are at all times. And, remember, pets are affected by heatstroke in the same way as children and the same rules apply.
General News on 05/20/2020