Updated September 23, 2015.

A child dying in a hot car was once a relatively rare event. In the early 1990s, only about four to five kids a year died in hot cars. Unfortunately, those numbers have grown tremendously, to where we now have about 40 to 50 deaths a year.

Why the big difference?

I don't think any one factor has ever been found to be a cause, but the rise in the automation in our cars certainly has to be a factor. While you once had to manually roll up all of the car windows and lock the doors, you can now do all of that with a push of a button.

Was that extra step enough of a reminder that you had a baby in the car?

Hot Car Deaths

So far this year, in 2015, there have been at least 22 hot car deaths.

Some recent hot car tragedies include:

• an 8-month-old in Hephzibah, Georgia who was left in a hot car by his godmother who had been drinking and went inside and fell asleep. (2015)
   
• a 6-month-old in Deltona, Florida who was forgotten in a hot car by her caregiver who had gone to work at an area school. (2015)
   
• a 19-year-old special needs student in Whittier, California who died after he was likely forgotten on a school bus all day. (2015)
   
• a 4-month-old in Corpus Christi, Texas who was forgotten in a hot car by his father after he returned home from running an errand. His 16-month-old sister was also in the car, but survived. (2015)
   
• an 11-month-old in Chickamauga, Georgia who was forgotten in a hot car after his family returned home from church. (2015)
   
• a 5-month-old in Del City, Oklahoma who was left in a hot car in the driveway of a home. (2015)
   

• a 13-month-old foster child in Edgemere, Maryland who was left in a hot car outside a church when her mother went to work inside, forgetting to take her to the daycare next store. (2015)
   
• a 4-year-old in Las Vegas, Nevada who was forgotten in a hot car outside his home by his grandfather who had been out running errands. (2015)
   
• a 5 year-old with autism in Burleson, Texas who had wandered out of his home and into an unlocked car. (2015)
   
• a 17-month-old in Pecos, Texas who was forgotten in a hot car after his mother had returned from dropping his father at work and going into their home with two of her other children. (2015)
   
• a 3-month-old in Austin, Texas who was left in a hot car outside of a Waffle House. (2015)
   
• a 10-month-old in Nemo, Missouri who was left in a hot car after her parents had returned from swimming at a lake. (2015)
   
• an 18-month-old in Hot Springs, Arkansas died after he was left in a hot car (2015)
   
• a 2-year-old in Dallas, Texas died after she was forgotten in a hot car after the family returned to their home (2015)
   
• a 22-month old in Baton Rouge, Louisiana died after she was left in a hot car for at least two hours by her daycare workers. (2015)
   
• an 18-month-old in Panama City, Florida died after she was left in a hot car by her mother as she went inside a school to teach for the day. (2015)
   
• a 16-month-old in Lake City, Florida died after being left in a hot car. His father forget to take her to daycare that day and she was found in the car outside the family's home later that day. (2015)
   
• a 2-year-old infant in Phoenix, Arizona died after he was left in a hot car after his father drove to a liquor store, bought a bottle of gin, drank it on the way home and forgot the toddler in the car. (2015)
   
• a 7-month-old in Tucson, Arizona who died after she was left in a hot car for at least 8 hours.
   
• an 8-month-old in Brownsville, Texas who died after he was left in a hot car outside his home.
   
• a 17-month-old in St. Mary's County, Maryland who died after he was unintentionally left in a hot car on the Naval Air Station Patuxent River. His father had dropped off his 4-year-old son at a child development center and apparently forgot to drop off the toddler, going to his office instead. He didn't realize that the child was still in the car until his wife called asking about his car seat.
   
• a 4-year-old in Lahaina, Hawaii who died after she was found in a hot car in an apartment complex parking lot.
   
• a 2-year-old in Roanoke, Virginia who died after she was unintentionally left in a car seat in a van parked in the driveway of the family's home.
   
• an 11-month-old in Hurricane, Utah who died after bring left in a car "for a substantial period of time" by a relative.
   
• a 4-week-old in Statesville, North Carolina who died after being left in a car for up to two hours.
   
• a 3-year-old in Sylmar, California who died after getting trapped in a hot car while playing in the front yard of his home.
   
• a 10-month-old foster child in Wichita, Kansas who died after being left in the car in the late afternoon for about two hours. Her foster father had just picked her up from a baby sitter and forgot her in the car when he and a 5-year-old got back to their home.
   
• a 2-year-old in El Paso, Texas who died after she was left in a hot car at her home.
   
• a 9-month-old in Rockledge, Florida who died after she was forgotten in a hot pickup truck. Her father forgot to drop her off at her babysitter's house when he went to work and she sat in the hot pickup for up to four hours in a shopping center parking lot. It was 85 degrees out that day.
   
• a 2-month-old in Ardmore, Oklahoma who died after being left in a hot car for at least seven hours on a 100 degree day while he was being watched by his great uncle. While he dropped another child, a 1-year-old, at daycare, he forget to drop off the infant and left him in the car.
   
• a 4-year-old in Flint, Texas who died after she and her 3-year-old sister became trapped in a hot truck that had been left unlocked and was parked outside their home. Their father had put them down for a nap and had been doing chores, but he couldn't find them when he went to check on them. The missing children were later found in the truck.
   
• a 2-year-old in Sarasota, Florida who died after she was forgotten in a hot car outside her home after her father ran inside to get a phone charger, but instead fell asleep for at least five hours.
   
• a 15-month-old in Dolgeville, New York who died in a hot car in the driveway of her grandfather's house. Her father had dropped two other children off at school and another child at a relative's home. He then left for work in a different car, forgetting the toddler in the car for at least 7 hours.
   
• a 5-year-old in Princeton, Illinois who died in a hot car after he likely fell asleep in the family car while playing on his electronic tablet. His father had thought that he had gone inside to play, but instead found him inside the car a few hours later, where he may have gone to charge his tablet. (2014)
   
• a 13-month-old in Florence County, South Carolina who died after being left in a hot car for over an hour. (2014)
   
• A 2-year-old in Clarkston, Georgia who died after he became trapped inside a hot car. (2014)
   
• A 13-month-old in Hartsville, South Carolina who died after being unintentionally left in a hot car outside of the store where her father worked. (2014)
   
• A 3-month-old in Greensboro, North Carolina who died after being unintentionally left in a hot car. His family had changed their routine that morning, and the baby had gone with his father to work that morning, and not with his mother, as he usually does.
   
• A 7-month-old in Hempstead, New York who died after being unintentionally left in a hot car. His father had just returned home after dropping off his girlfriend at work and two other kids at day camp.
   
• Two toddlers who died in a hot car after their mom fell asleep in their home after putting them in the car.
   
• A 2-year-old who died in a car in a Walmart parking lot while his great-grandparents shopped.
   
• A 3-year-old who climbed into the back of the family's car and couldn't get out.
   
• A 4-year-old who died after being left in a daycare provider's van.
   
• A 16-month-old who died after she was forgotten in the back seat of her father's car when he forgot to drop her off at daycare on his way to work.
   
• A 2-year-old who died after in the parking lot of his daycare after his aunt forgot to bring him inside.
   
• A 22-month-old boy who died after he was apparently left in a day care van in Homestead, Florida.
   
• A 4-year-old girl in Cleburne, Texas who died after she was reported missing and was eventually found in an SUV outside her house.
   
• A 3-year-old boy in Norman, Oklahoma who died after police found him in a car about 20 minutes after they were called because his babysitter reported him missing outside her home.
   
• An 8-year-old boy in Cyril, Oklahoma who died in the trunk of the family's car.
   
• A 1-year-old boy in Danville, Virginia who died after being left in a car in a shopping center parking lot with his 3-year-old sister and a 78-year-old woman, both who were treated in a local emergency room for heat exposure.
   
• A 3-year-old boy in Brownsville, Texas who left the house and got into the family's car outside. He was missing for a few hours and was eventually found dead in the hot car.
   
• A 2-year-old boy in Bristow, Virginia who died in his car seat after his mother forgot to drop him off at day care on her way to work and left him in the car all day.
   
• A 4-year-old in Dothan, Alabama who died after he slipped out of the house, got into the family car, and wasn't found for several hours.
   
• A 17-month-old girl who died in a hot car near Palm View, Texas after being forgotten in a hot car for several hours.
   

When you realize that a car can quickly heat up to almost 110° F in only 15 minutes when it is 83° F outside, even when the car's windows are rolled down a little, it is not hard to understand why these tragedies happen. When the temperatures outside get up to 100° F, a car can heat up to 172° F.

Kids in Hot Cars

A review of the hot car tragedies shows the four main ways that kids can die in hot cars, including that they:

• are left in a car by mistake when a parent forgets to drop them off at day care
• are forgotten on a bus or day care van by a worker transporting them to school or day care
• get in the car or trunk to play and then can't get out and become trapped
• are left in a car by a parent or other caregiver who simply doesn't want to bring the child inside with him or her

Hot car tragedies are not all about parents forgetting to drop off their kids at day care. Kids slipping out of the house and into an unlocked car, often into the trunk, is another common way kids die in hot cars.

And of course, some people simply don't understand the risk of hot cars and intentionally leave their kids in a hot car as they go shopping or run errands.

Since these tragedies continue to happen to families that would never think that they could leave their child in a hot car, it is important to remember to take precautions so it really doesn't happen to your kids, such as:

• keeping your car locked and your keys out of reach, so kids can't get in the car by themselves
• placing a reminder in the back seat, such as the keyless entry remote that locks a car (put it on a key chain separate from the car keys), your purse, wallet, briefcase, or anything else that you typically take with you and can't do without
• consider locking your car manually instead of using the remote, so that you might remember if you left your baby in the car
• putting something on the dashboard, your keychain (like a pacifier), or car window to remind you that your baby may be in the car
• asking your daycare provider to set up a system where they call if you don't show up with your baby and haven't called in sick
• when you get home, bringing your baby inside the house first and then bringing in the groceries so that you don't get distracted inside the house and forget your baby outside in the car
• be extra cautious when you break your typical routine, since that is when most hot car accidents happen

And of course, never leave your child in the car. If you see kids alone in a car, call 911 and help make sure the kids get out quickly. Even with the windows rolled down a little, it doesn't take long for a car to heat up to the point that kids can get heat stroke.

Also remember that when a child is missing, in addition to checking the backyard pool and any other bodies of water, be sure to check inside the car and trunk of any nearby vehicles.

 

<sub>Sources:

KidsAndCars.org. Child Vehicular Heat Stroke Deaths By Calendar Year.

National Highway Traffic Safety Association. Unattended Children and Cars. Accessed July 2011.

Null, Jan. Fact Sheet - Heatstroke Deaths of Children in Vehicles. Accessed August 2014.</sub>