Summertime Reminder: Don’t Leave Kids in Cars

by Eric Galatas/TNS

AUSTIN, Texas – As summer temperatures rise, so does the potential for heatstroke deaths in children.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is reminding Texans that every year, children die after being left in a vehicle unattended.

DPS Sgt. Jason Reyes says everyone has a role to play in preventing heatstroke, and he urges anyone who sees a child alone in a car to dial 911.
“Every year, children are dying because of the heat that’s inside of a vehicle and so, that’s why we want to remind all of our citizens of Texas to take every precaution to prevent these deaths,” he says.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, temperatures inside a car can rise more than 20 degrees in only 10 minutes – and even with an outside temperature of 60 degrees, the temperature inside a car can reach 110.

Reyes adds leaving windows partially rolled down doesn’t help, and young children are particularly at risk since their bodies heat up faster than do adults’.

Reyes points out that parents busy running errands sometimes forget that children are with them.

He says it helps to establish reminders, such as leaving a purse or cell phone near the child’s car seat, to ensure you always check the back seat of a vehicle before walking away.

“I’ve even heard somebody, a young woman who actually takes her shoe off, and puts that in the back seat,” he relates. “Because when she opens the door to go somewhere, she’s obviously not going to walk away with only one shoe. So that reminds her that, ‘You know what, I’ve got that shoe in the back seat, but also I have my child back there as well.’”

One-third of all heatstroke deaths occur when a child climbs into a parked car unnoticed. And since children like to play in cars, Reyes advises parents to keep vehicles locked, and make sure the keys are out of reach when not being used.