There many dangers that face children, but summer months bring their own added dangers. One common occurrence during this time of the year is leaving children locked inside a hot car. Over the last ten years between 300 and 340 children have died after being left in hot cars. As a matter of fact, some sources place this figure closer to 400. In the hot summer months it takes relatively little time for temperatures to creep up, even with a partially open window. Not many persons realize that temperatures inside a locked car can reach upwards of 130 degrees in less than six minutes. According to information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, temperatures can move from 78 degrees to 125 in six to eight minutes.

The reasons given for children being left in hot cars range from parents forgetting that the babies were there to children playing around and getting accidentally locked in. Statistics from the Department of Geosciences at the San Francisco State University Web site indicate that from 1998-2007, 51 percent of deaths resulting from being locked inside a hot car occurred because the caregiver forgot the child; 30 percent resulted from children playing in a car unsupervised; 18 percent were due to adults knowingly leaving the child in the vehicle. Many adults tend to leave a child in a vehicle to run an errand which they figure shouldn’t take long.

How to Improve Car Safety

Although accidents do happen, as parents there is a lot we can do to try and minimize them. These pointers can go a long way in avoiding having to deal with the death of a child due to suffocation in a hot vehicle:

• Don’t leave car keys where small children and reach them and get into the car
• Do not leave your car doors open when at you are at home
• Place a reminder on your dashboard that you have a child in the backseat, especially if you are not normally the one taking children to daycare etc. Make sure that it is big enough to be easily seen.
• If you fear you may forget that you have a baby or toddler in the car, set an alarm on your phone or PDA to remind you
• Ask someone to call you and remind you to drop the child off if necessary
• Get cars with or install a trunk release latch on car trunks; this will prevent children accidentally locking themselves into the trunk and being unable to get out
• Make getting children out of the car the first priority when you reach your destination
• Tell children not to get into a car while playing without an adult being aware

While some of these tips may seem trite now, they can save a life and help you avoid prison and the loss of a beloved child.