As the weather warms up, it’s crucial to remember the importance of keeping children safe in vehicles. Every year, preventable hot car deaths occur when children are accidentally left alone in cars. In Florida, April has been designated as Hot Car Death Prevention Month to raise awareness about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles. On an 80° F day, the temperature inside your car can reach 109° F in just 20 minutes – hot enough for a child to have a life-threatening heatstroke.
The Florida Department of Health in Clay County offers the following tips to help prevent these tragic incidents:
Create a routine:
- Put something you need at your destination in the back seat: a laptop, employee badge, purse, wallet, etc.
- Place a toy on the front passenger seat as a reminder when the child is in the back seat.
- Set a reminder alarm on your cell phone or digital calendar to drop your child off at childcare.
- For changes in routine for childcare drop-off, make sure you and the other person communicate to confirm the drop-off was made.
- Ask your childcare provider to contact you if your child hasn’t arrived as scheduled.
- Ask your vehicle or child seat manufacturer if they offer technology for an alert system for back seat passengers.
Secure your car. - Always lock your car when you’re not using it. Even if you don’t have a child of your own, a child in your neighborhood could get into your unlocked vehicle and get trapped.
Act fast. Save a life. - If you see a child alone in a locked car, act immediately and call 911.
Together, we can prevent tragedies and keep our loved ones safe.