Parents, family members, and caregivers want to protect the children in their care at all times, even on short trips to the supermarket or longer ones to the hairdresser.  There are children who might be alive today had parents or caregivers brought them into the supermarket or into the hairdresser's instead of leaving them in a car with the windows all or partially closed. The number of children who have died from hyperthermia after being left in cars that have become hot quickly, has risen dramatically in the past ten years.  The pace of life is frenetic these days--our children ride in the car behind the drivers in booster seats--and sometimes tragically parents forget or become distracted.

Kids and Cars.org recently published the numbers of children who have died in cars due to heat exposure from 1998 to 2010:  495 children died in hot cars nationwide, with 49 such deaths reported last year alone. A small child can die in as few as 20 minutes due to the effects of hyperthermia because a child's core makes up most their body weight, and their internal core temperature rises fast. In heat stroke, the internal core temperature is so high the body's cells are destroyed.   

Attention is being paid to this phenomenon, and yet these accidents still occur.  SafeKids and local fire departments present public demonstrations showing that a person can fry an egg on the car's dashboard or bake cookies on it in fewer than 10 minutes in a closed, hot car!  Last month, the Utah State Senate debated a bill to make it a Class C misdemeanor to leave a child under nine years old unattended in a vehicle when the conditions are a risk to the child's health or safety. 

Children being left in hot cars was only one focus of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, "Not-in-Traffic Surveillance 2007 - Children" published more than two years ago. The report confirmed then that "preventable deaths and injuries associated with motor vehicles happen with regularity every year, not only on public roadways, but on private driveways and in parking lots." Not only were and are children dying of hyperthermia after being left in hot cars, but children are being backed over, and powerful automatic vehicle windows are closing on necks and limbs of car occupants.

These tragic accidents, however, are preventable, and Kids and Cars.org put together a list of tips we believe are extremely useful to help parents and caregivers when they have children along for the ride in the back in a safety or booster seat:

"KidsAndCars.org recommendations to keep children safe include[1]:

• Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute
• Put something you'll need like your cell phone, handbag, employee ID, lunch or brief case, etc., on the floor board in the back seat.
• Get in the habit of always opening the back door of your vehicle every time you reach your destination to make sure no child has been left behind. "Look before you lock!"
• Keep a large teddy bear in a child's car seat when it's not occupied. When the child is placed in the seat, put the teddy bear in the front passenger seat. It's a visual reminder that anytime the teddy bear is up front you know the child is in the back seat in a child safety seat.
• Make arrangements with your child's day care center or babysitter that you will always call them if your child will not be there on a particular day as scheduled. This is common courtesy and sets a good example that everyone who is involved in the care of your child is informed of their whereabouts on a daily basis. Ask them to phone you if your child doesn't show up when expected. Many children's lives could have been saved with a telephone call from a concerned child care provider. Give child care providers all your telephone numbers, including that of an extra family member or friend, so they can always confirm the whereabouts of your child.
• Use drive-thru services in restaurants, banks, pharmacies, dry cleaners, etc., when available.
• If you see a child alone in a vehicle, get involved. If they are hot or seem sick, get them out as quickly as possible. Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.
• Keep vehicles locked at all times; even in the garage or driveway and always set your parking brake.
• Keys and/or remote openers should never be left within reach of children.
• Make sure all child passengers have left the vehicle after it is parked.
• Be especially careful about keeping children safe in and around cars during busy times, schedule changes, and periods of crisis or holidays.
• When a child is missing, check vehicles and car trunks immediately.
• Use your debit or credit card to pay for gas at the pump.
• Walk around and behind a vehicle prior to moving it.
• Know where your kids are! Make children move away from your vehicle to a place where they are in full view before moving the car and know that another adult is properly supervising children before moving your vehicle.
• Teach children that "parked" vehicles might move. Let them know that even when they can see the vehicle, the driver might not be able to see them.
• Consider installing cross-view mirrors, audible collision detectors, rear view video camera, and/or some type of back-up detection device.
• Measure the size of your blind zone (area) behind the vehicle(s) you drive. A 5-foot-1-inch driver in a pickup truck can have a rear blind zone of approximately 8 feet wide by 50 feet long.
• Be aware that steep inclines and large SUV's, vans, and trucks add to the difficulty of seeing behind a vehicle.
• Hold children's hands firmly when leaving the vehicle--whether you are at home, in a parking lot, or on the sidewalk!
• Teach your children to never play in, around, or behind a vehicle.
• Keep toys and other sports equipment off the driveway and away from the street.
• Homeowners should trim landscaping around the driveway to ensure they can see the sidewalk, street, and pedestrians clearly when backing out of their driveway. Pedestrians also need to be able to see a vehicle pulling out of the driveway."

ChildSafetyBlog.org wants you to be safe in the springtime--and all the time!