A child dies in a car from heat buildup

The first child to die this year after being forgotten in the car happened in Florida.
How can people be that stupid? It boggles my brain that someone with a child, or looking after a child, can forget where they are. Like a pair of shoes or a jacket. I bet they take better care of their wallet.

The news doesn't want to blame the parent so they word it like this
"About one-in-four fatalities happen when a child gains access to a hot vehicle."

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

ninalanyon · 70-79, T

one-in-four fatalities happen when a child gains access to a hot vehicle.

So three in four happen because the 'responsible' adult left the child in the hot vehicle!

I did a quick web search and discovered that it's common enough in the US to even have a name

Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (PVH)

and a website devoted to it

https://www.noheatstroke.org/

There is a fact sheet that reveals a gruesome detail, about one in four were knowingly left!

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/65789e268a44340b2eca10cd/t/69ce9ddfadec6e7d400edb48/1775148511884/Fact.jpg

I don't mean to bash the US here, for all I know people might be as careless or evil in some other hot place but the prevalence of cars and the number of short journeys undertaken probably makes it more likely in the US.

There's a pdf with lots of statistical detail at

https://www.kidsandcars.org/document_center/download/hot-cars/Child-Hot-Car-Deaths-Data-Analysis.pdf

ElwoodBlues · M

@ninalanyon Thanks for doing the research here. These easily preventable childhood deaths are horrible to contemplate.

ninalanyon · 70-79, T

@ElwoodBlues It was surprisingly easy to find the data. All credit should go to:

Jan Null, CCM, Department of Meteorology and Climate Science, San Jose State University. Null, a certified consulting meteorologist, has been tracking U.S. child vehicular heatstroke deaths since 1998.

and the National Safety Council
https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/motor-vehicle-safety-issues/hotcars/

The National Safety Council website is a fascinating, and disturbing, rabbit hole and unlike the impression that many of us on the outside now have of the US, the NSC looks outside the US as well and I found this on the International page:

While preventable injuries are the world’s sixth leading cause of death, they are the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease and malignant neoplasms (cancer).

https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/international/international-overview/

Makes me wonder what the statistics are for other countries with which I'm familiar.