Because of safety laws and regulations, most children are placed in child restraint systems in the backseat of passenger vehicles. While this practice has reduced the number of children critically injured and killed in auto crashes, it has increased the number of car-related fatalities related to hyperthermia, or heatstroke. Parents running quick errands for a few minutes may think their child will remain unharmed if left alone and buckled in the car. However, every year new stories emerge about the life-threatening consequences of children unintentionally left in the back seat of cars. 

Hyperthermia happens when a person’s body temperature rises to at least 104 degrees Fahrenheit and their body cooling system cannot keep cool the person off.  A body temperature reaching 107 degrees Fahrenheit can be deadly because the body’s organs begin to shut down.

Symptoms of heatstroke include:

• confusion
• dizziness
• fussy or irritable
• fast heart beat, or slow and weak heartbeat
• flushed hot dry skin
• sluggishness
• seizures

Hyperthermia can occur in vehicles even if temperatures outside are mild. When the temperature outside of the car reaches 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the inside of a vehicle can reach life-threatening temperatures very quickly. If sunshine is present, the temperature inside the car can rise even faster.

This rise in vehicle temperature is very dangerous for young children. A young child’s body temperature increases three to five times faster than an adult. Rolling the windows down a few inches is not enough to keep a care ventilated and cooled, and caregivers should never leave children unattended in vehicles.

Keeping Children Safe Around Vehicles 

It is also important to not let children play around cars unattended. Without proper adult supervision, a child can climb into an unlocked vehicle or become trapped inside the trunk, putting them at risk for suffocation or heatstroke. Therefore, caregivers should always keep parked vehicle doors and trunks locked.

Here are other tips that may help adults keep children safe around vehicles:

• Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle
• Make it a habit to always look in the back of the vehicle before locking the doors and walking away
• Keep vehicles locked when not in use to prevent child entrapment
• If a child is missing, check vehicles and trunks first
• Use a reminder to the driver – such as a toy kept in the front seat – to remind the driver that a child is present in the vehicle

See also:

National Highway Safety Administration: Keeping Our Kids Safe

American Academy of Pediatrics Audio Cast: Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke

Safe Kids: Never Leave Your Child Alone In a Car

Safety Tips From KidsAndCars.org [PDF, 460KB]