Hot car deaths happen all too often, leaving traumatic scars in their wake. On average, every 10 days, a child dies from heatstroke in a vehicle, mostly by accident when someone forgets the child is in the car -- often with a family’s change in routine. But how can it happen?
“We have a powerful brain, an autopilot brain memory system that gets us to do things automatically and, in that process, we lose awareness of other things in our mind, including that there’s a child in the car,” explained Dr. David Diamond, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida.
Diamond has been studying the science behind this common memory failure that can have tragic consequences. His research found during the summer, many families change their daily routines, and that disruption is a common factor.
“The most common response is that only bad or negligent parents forget kids in cars,” Diamond told Consumer Reports. “It’s a matter of circumstances. It can happen to everyone.”
Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees. A child can die when their body temperature reaches 107 degrees.
Two children have died from heatstroke in a vehicle so far this year. While those two deaths didn’t happen in Florida or Georgia, last year eight children died in those two states -- seven of them were in Florida.
Click here to use an interactive map to see nationwide statistics from the National Safety Council.
Even on days with mild temperatures, the heat inside a vehicle can reach dangerous levels within an hour, posing significant health risks to small children or pets left inside.
“Children aren’t able to efficiently regulate their body temperature and their bodies can heat up three to five times faster than adults,” warned Consumer Reports’ Auto Safety Manager Emily Thomas.
And Consumer Reports warns keeping a car window cracked open or parking in the shade is extremely dangerous too. Neither will cool the car enough to be safe for children or pets.
CONSUMER REPORTS: Hot Car Fatalities Are a Year-Round Threat to Children and Pets
A new safety tool: Some car manufacturers have introduced technology that goes beyond just reminding drivers if they leave something behind in the back seat.
“This new technology could actually detect an occupant,” Thomas said.
However, this advancement is not widely available. Consumer Reports advises all parents to create a routine with their own reminders every time they drive.
“You should create a habit of putting a personal item in the back seat, like your laptop or your phone. This will force you to visit the back seat after every trip,” Thomas suggested.
“Some people go so far as to say put a shoe in the back seat to give yourself a cue so that you have that reminder when you get out of the car,” added Diamond.
It’s an easy behavioral change -- enough to trigger the brain to do something different -- that could save a life.