July 31 is National Heat Stroke Prevention Day!
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and SafeKids are teaming up to get the word out about heat stroke this season. As the temperatures rise, so do the number of hot car
injuries and deaths. Children, the elderly and the infirm are of primary importance and at great risk. Temperatures in parked cars with the windows up rise in seconds! You need to know
the following in order to help:
“A child dies from heatstroke about once every 10 days from being unattended in a hot vehicle. In fact, heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle fatality for kids 14 and younger. In more than half of these deaths, the caregiver forgot the child was in the car or the child climbed into an unlocked car to play and couldn’t get themselves out. These tragedies are 100-percent
preventable!”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Safe Kids Worldwide are asking people to help raise awareness about the danger of heatstroke to kids in cars through social media conversation this summer. We are reaching out to the community to get the conversation started and keep the momentum going on Twitter on July 31, every 30 minutes starting at 7 a.m. EDT – @NHTSAgov will be using the hashtags #heatstrokekills and #checkforbaby on all of its social media posts (including Instagram and Facebook) and asks you to help us take action.
Please pass on to friends with children to place a reminder in the front seat if they are driving with a child in the back seat…that a child is there. Whether it’s a child’s toy or a sign on the dashboard… or put your purse or a needed briefcase in the backseat too, so you have to look in the back before you leave the car and remember your child is there. Don’t be a distracted driver, don’t use your cell phone while driving and DO one last backseat check after you park to make sure there is no child in that vehicle.
Others… if you see a child in a backseat with the windows rolled up (a.c. or no, car running or not), call 911. Children are not to be left alone in parked cars…for any reason!
