It can take only a few moments of carelessness for a catastrophic tragedy to occur and this statement is especially true in case of young children dying of heatstroke after being left in a hot car for an extended period of time.
Every year, many avoidable deaths occur due to vehicular heat stroke and the rising numbers are worrying health officials and child safety experts.
According to statistics compiled by the Department of Geo-sciences, San Francisco State University, since 1998, on an average, 38 children in United States have died from heat stroke each year after being left in a hot vehicle. In 2010, at least 49 children died beacuse of this tragedy.
Experts have ascertained three major causes of vehicular heat stroke from media reports. Of all the deaths that occurred in hot vehicles:
*51% of the children were forgotten in the car by caregivers.
*30% of children died when they played unattended in vehicles
*17% deaths occurred when adults intentionally left babies and toddlers in their cars while they went about their business.
The highest death rate is among children who are one year old or less though toddlers up to 4 years are also at risk. In their website, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that a baby left in a stationary car can quickly get too hot and suffer heat stroke. This can lead to a high fever, dehydration, seizures and death.
Parents can be stressed or overwhelmed or they might think it is okay to leave a child in car when they go to a bank or supermarket for “just a few minutes.” Parents need to know that it does not have to be an extremely hot day for these incidents to happen. Temperatures in the interior of parked vehicles can rise rapidly. Even if a window is rolled down two inches, and the outside temperature is in the low 80s° Fahrenheit, it takes only 10 minutes for the temperature inside a vehicle to reach deadly levels. This is because much of the heat radiates off car seats and dashboards.
If you come across a child who has been left alone in a car in a parking lot, do not abandon him to his fate. Alert the police or some other officials who can locate his parents or guardians. A little vigilance on your part can save a precious life.
Image credit: Pixabay.com
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That's an irresponsible thing to happen. The babies or children should not be left inside the car. Some people forget the negative impact of such bad actions. Even adults cannot endure the heat from the sun especially inside a car for more than 40 degrees Celsius. Another thing, it can also lead Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
@Shavkat The horrifying thing is how commonly this happens. Many times, parents think it is going to take a minute to run inside a grocery store or bank. but we can get detained by a long queue or a card that does not work or anything. It is also very surprising how many times parents walk into their homes and offices without their baby and forget him in the car for hours.
You are right. It is becoming very common to forget kids in a car and involve in some other activity.
Leave a kid in car all alone and go for some shopping. What a terrible thing it would be! I just can't imagine this as it is disturbing me. It is the extreme of carelessness and must be avoided at any cost to ensure the safety of these little souls. May God keep every kid safe and sound.