With Texas heat in full force, leaving children in cars is more dangerous than ever
With the Texas summer heat in full force, leaving children in cars becomes even more dangerous.
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth has issued a heat advisory with heat index values between 100 and 111 degrees expected this week.
Between 1991 and 2019, Texas ranked first as the state with the most child deaths in hot cars with 135, according to a MedStar press release. Florida ranked second with 97 deaths. Across the country, there have been 949 deaths in that time period. Of those, 88% were children under 3 years old, 56% were left in a car unknowingly and 28% got into an unlocked car.
This year, MedStar has responded to two incidents of a child being left in a hot car in North Texas, both under 3 years old.
MedStar spokesperson Matt Zavadsky said most cases happen to children under 3 and happen under the watch of new parents, who are very tired from going about their lives while at the same time adjusting to life as a parent. This combination sadly leads to children being left in a hot car.
Another common instance where children get left in a vehicle is when a van or bus driver has a lot of children to keep track of and it’s easy to forget a child after everyone is out of the vehicle.
With weather that the Metroplex is experiencing this week, Zavadsky said a car can reach up to 140 degrees. Within 10 minutes, that heat can cause permanent damage to a child’s vital organs and within 20 minutes they will stop breathing.
Zavadksy said to help keep an incident like this from happening, one of his go-to tips is called the stuffed animal approach. With this approach, the parent or guardian keeps a stuffed animal where the child usually sits. When the child is put in the seat, put the stuffed animal in the front passenger seat. It serves as a visual reminder that there is a child in the back.
Zavadsky also recommends putting an important item in the backseat so you have to open the back door every time you park. This could be a briefcase, a purse or keys.
Another thing to remember is to lock the car, he said. There’ve been fatal incidents where children go back inside an unlocked car and stay in.
These are other tips to avoid an incident:
Keep car keys and remote openers out of reach of children.
Use technology: Apps like WAZE have child reminders when you arrive at a destination.
Create a reminder to check the back seat.
If you see a child alone in a vehicle, get involved. Call 911 immediately. If the child seems hot or sick, get them out of the vehicle as quickly as possible.
This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
