Campaign launched to prevent heatstroke deaths of children left in cars

Since 1998, there have been 637 deaths in the United States from adults leaving a young child in a hot vehicle. Three years ago the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched its “Where’s baby? Look before you lock” public education campaign on National Heatstroke Prevention Day, which takes place annually on July 31.

NHTSA has extended the campaign over the entire summer in 2015. The campaign highlights the dangers of vehicular-induced heatstroke and provides tips to avoid tragedies that are “100 percent preventable.”

Forty-four children died in 2013 because they were left unattended in a hot vehicle, and 30 deaths were reported in 2014. It is hoped that the safety campaign has helped limit the incidents.

Despite criminal cases, such as that of Justin Ross Harris, the suburban Atlanta father who was accused in 2014 for fatally leaving his 22-month-old son in a hot car for seven hours so the father could live a child-free life, heatstroke deaths most often happen when children lock themselves in a car while playing, or a caregiver unaccustomed to transporting a child forgets the child sleeping in the back.

“The majority of these cases are accidental tragedies that can strike even the most conscientious and loving parents and caregivers, but they can be stopped,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said last year. “Even one heatstroke death is one too many because every death caused by leaving a child unattended in a hot car is 100 percent avoidable.”

Heatstroke can be caused by outside temperatures as low as the 60s Fahrenheit. Even with external temps in the 60s, the interior of a car can heat up above 110 degrees. A child will die of heatstroke once body temperature reaches 107 degrees, according to NHTSA.

A car can heat up by 20 degrees in just 10 minutes and lead to serious injury, including permanent brain damage, blindness and loss of hearing.

“Parents and caregivers are the first line of defense against these needless tragedies, but everyone in the community has a role to play,” an NHTSA representative said in 2014. “Prevention means never leaving children unattended in a vehicle and always checking the backseat before walking away. If a child is in distress in a hot car, bystanders should call 911 immediately.”

In addition to calling 911, bystanders can call immediate service technicians such as Pop-a-Lock at 1-800-pop-a-lock. The nearest responder will “leave all other priorities aside to arrive as soon as possible” to unlock the car. Launched in 1991, the free community service has saved over 350,000 children locked in caregivers’ vehicles.

Bystanders are also urged to break a car window if the child is unresponsive, and to remove the child as quickly and safely as possible. Don’t wait more than a few minutes for the driver to return, NHTSA urges, but proceed with urgency if it appears the child is unresponsive. Remove the child and spray him or her with cool water but not an ice bath.

Signs of heatstroke include nausea, confusion or strange behavior, and no sweating.

Automakers and innovators are working on devices to prevent car-induced heatstroke deaths, though a 2012 study by NHTSA and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that weight-measuring devices that connect to a child-safety seat are unreliable. New products are coming to market. In 2013 TOMY International debuted a smart car seat that sends an alarm to a smartphone if the seat gets too hot. Other apps that connect to Bluetooth devices are hitting the market. Additionally, automakers and suppliers are being pushed to develop internal car sensors that can warn drivers of living beings, including pets, forgotten in a car.

The simplest design in 2014 was developed by fifth-grader Andrew Pelham. The 11-year-old developed the EZ Baby Saver neon strap that connects from the rear seat or child car seat to the driver’s door handle. The thinking is when you buckle baby in, drape the strap over your seat like a seat belt, then when you sit down and buckle in, you connect the strap to the door handle. It prevents you from getting out. This clever kid is offering free instructions and a video tutorial on his website.

Another easy reminder is to leave your left shoe in the backseat when you buckle your child in. Some sources suggest tying or strapping the shoe to the rear view mirror, but visibility may be compromised.

NHTSA recommends keeping a teddy bear or large stuffed animal in the car seat when it’s empty. Then when you put the child in the car seat, move the teddy bear to the passenger seat. Resist the urge to let the child have the teddy bear.

All day on Friday, July 31, 2015, NHTSA, automakers and child-safety organizations are asking people to spread heatstroke prevention awareness on social media such as Twitter with the hashtags #checkforbaby and #heatstrokekills.

rduffer@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @Chitribuneauto

@DufferRobert