Child hot car deaths could happen in any family: Tips to prevent summer tragedy

Summer-like temperatures are heating up this week, with some Southern states reaching temperatures well into the 90s, according to the National Weather Service.

Those high temperatures can bring health risks for young children. About 40 children die from heatstroke in a car every year.

Over the past 26 years, 970 children have died from heatstroke as a result of being forgotten or stuck in a hot car, according to NoHeatStroke.org. The first hot car death of 2024 occurred this month in South Carolina.

Summer months are peak time for hot car deaths

The months of May through September see the most hot car accidents. With June, July and August the peak months.

But, every month of the year, even the winter months, has seen one death. 

Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them. 

In the past 26 years, 2018 and 2019 were the worst years in the number of hot car deaths – 53 children died in each year, according to NoHeatstroke.org.

Dangers of high temperatures in vehicles

Cars can heat up quickly; interior temperatures can rise 20 degrees in 10 minutes. Even if it’s only in the 60s outside, the temperature inside a car can reach 110 degrees.

Examples of interior heat based on a 95-degree day:

Animation shows how quickly temperatures can rise.

Hot-car deaths mostly result of accidents

Parental stress can increase the likelihood of memory lapses, according to a prominent cognitive neuroscience expert who has researched the function of memory in such tragedies.

David Diamond, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida in Tampa told Consumer Reports recently, "Forgetting a child is not a negligence problem but a memory problem."

“The most common response is that only bad or negligent parents forget kids in cars,” Diamond says. “It’s a matter of circumstances. It can happen to everyone.”

A heatstroke fact sheet (PDF link here) provided by NoHeatStroke.org highlights how broad the range of caregivers involved in these accidents is. They include: fathers, mothers, sitters, social workers, police officers, nurses and members of the armed services.

Anybody can experience these unfortunate events, regardless of their social background or level of education.

More:Toddler dies in first US hot car death of 2024. Is there technology that can help save kids?

Where hot car deaths occur the most in the U.S.

Since 1998, only two states – Alaska and Vermont – have not seen at least one child death in a hot car. Texas leads the nation with 155 since 1998, according to KidsandCarsSafety.

How to prevent the death of a child in a hot car

Here's what National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says you should do to prevent a tragic accident:

• Make it a habit to open the rear door as you get out of the car, and keep anything that you need to start your day in the backseat, such your mobile phone or computer bag.
• Put something that will serve as a visual cue that your child is with you, such a diaper bag, in the front seat.
• Ask your child care providers to call you if your child isn't dropped off as scheduled, because parents sometimes think they have dropped their child off and go to work, accidentally leaving them in their car seats all day.

Contributing: Doyle Rice and Jeanine Santucci

SOURCE NoHeatStroke.org; National Safety Council, KidsandCarSafety.org, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration; Consumer Reports, and USA TODAY research