Heatstroke Prevention

Every death is preventable.

• Hot car deaths are the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children 14 and younger.
• As temperatures start to rise across the country, it is essential for parents and caregivers everywhere to remember: Stop. Look. Lock.
• Before leaving a vehicle, stop, look for a child, and lock the car doors. It only takes a second.
• Since 1998, when safety advocates first began tracking, hot car deaths have killed more than 1,000 children. Each death was preventable.
• On average, 37 children die per year due to vehicular heatstroke. The biggest risk factor in these cases is a change in routine.
• The three main scenarios in which heatstroke occurs are:
  1. Children are forgotten in vehicles by parents or caregivers.
  2. Children gain access to unlocked vehicles and become trapped inside.
  3. Children are knowingly left in vehicles by parents or caregivers.
• It is critical that all parents, caregivers, and drivers understand that children should never be left alone in a vehicle, not even for a minute.