Hot Car Deaths Soaring in 2016: National Safety Council

Hot car deaths are soaring this year, according to the National Safety Council.

July and August are the peak months for hot car deaths and so far this year, there have been 16 heatstroke deaths, including a Northern Virginia toddler who died in April, after being left in the back seat for seven hours by the mother's boyfriend. The latest hot car death took place June 21 in Texas.

During the same time period last year, eight children had died, according to the National Safety Council.

In the majority of cases of child heatstroke fatality – 53 percent – parents simply forgot their child was in the car, according to NoHeatStroke.org. Babies sleep soundly, and parents are stressed, rushing to get to work or driving on autopilot, not tuned in to a new schedule or change of routine.

Child deaths from heat stroke began trending up dramatically in 1998 along with awareness of the dangers airbags pose to children in the front seat. From 1990 to 1997, a total of 90 reported cases of children dying of heat stroke in cars were reported, an average of just over 11 per year. From 1998 to 2005, that number more than tripled to 304, an average of 38 per year.

The National Safety Council offers tips to help parents and caregivers:

New car seat technology is available that will sound an alarm after the driver turns off the car, reminding him or her that a child is in the back seat. SaferCar.gov offers other suggestions for keeping your precious cargo safe:

• Keep a stuffed animal in the child's seat, then move it to the front seat after you strap your child in as a visual reminder
• If your daily routine changes, always make sure your child has arrived at his destination safely.
• Make sure daycare providers know to call parents or relatives if the child does not arrive.
• Never leave a child alone in a car; use drive-through services and pay at the pump so you won't be tempted to leave the child "just for a moment."
• Remember, children overheat four times faster than adults; a child is likely to die when his body temperature reaches 107 degrees, and that can happen in minutes.
• Even in 70-degree weather, a vehicle can reach life-threatening temperatures quickly; regardless of the outside temperature, the average increase in temperature inside a vehicle is 3.2 degrees per five-minute interval.
• If you ever see a child alone in a car, call 911 immediately.
• If you see a child is in distress, remove the child from the vehicle; most states have Good Samaritan laws

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