The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is raising awareness for Heatstroke Prevention Day, which is held on Thursday, May 1.
Vehicular heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related death for children 14-years old and younger in the United States. ALDOT, along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging parents and caregivers to learn about and share critical information about the dangers of leaving children alone in hot cars.
Remember: Once You Park, Stop, Look, Lock.
More than 1,000 children have died due to pediatric vehicular heatstroke since 1998, the first year it was tracked. On average, one child dies from heatstroke every 10 days in the United States from being left in a car or crawling into an unlocked vehicle.
In 2024 alone, 39 children died due to vehicular heatstroke. That is 10 more children than the 29 that died in 2023.
While summertime is the peak season, heatstroke can occur in outdoor temperatures as low as 60 degrees.
Check for Children
Hot cars are deadly: Internal vehicle temperatures can rise quickly and become up to 50 degrees warmer than outside air temperatures. Because a child’s body temperature increases 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s, even a cool day outside may still pose a threat to a child.
Toddlers and young children are also at risk of vehicular heatstroke, and they are more likely to climb into a vehicle without supervision. Children “gaining access” to a vehicle account for nearly one-quarter of hot car deaths.
It is a parent or caregiver’s responsibility to teach children that the vehicle is not a playground and playing in and around a car is dangerous.
NHTSA urges all parents and caregivers to take three simple steps to help prevent hot car deaths.
When getting out of a car, make it a habit to check the entire vehicle, EVERY time. Second, NEVER leave a child in a vehicle unattended, even for one minute. Finally, ALWAYS lock the car and put the keys out of reach.
For more information on vehicle heatstroke and warning signs of heatstroke, visit www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/heatstroke. For current data, visit www.noheatstroke.org.
