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Heatstroke Deaths Almost Tripled In The USA, Stop Leaving Your Kids In The Car

Child deaths in parked cars are on the rise because parents keep leaving them inside while they run errands. According to a statistic published by the National Safety Council, heatstroke-related deaths are on an ascending trend in the United States of America.
Baby in a special car seat 1 photo
Photo: Amanda Mills, USCDCP
The association warns that 2016 has recorded almost three times more fatalities from this easily avoidable cause since the beginning of the year when compared to the same period of 2015.

According to CNN, 11 children died this year after being forgotten in parked cars. Last year, four kids lost their lives because of parent negligence in the same six months period, says Amy Artuso, program manager for the National Safety Council.

During 2015, a total of 24 children died because of heatstroke, an entirely avoidable situation for any reasonable adult. The worst year ever recorded, 1998, had 37 child deaths because of this irresponsible action.

Heatstroke, or hyperthermia in medical terms, refers to a condition of elevated body temperature. Instead of it being like having a fever when you get cold, its is more like staying in a hot oven.

Toddlers and young children, in general, are most vulnerable to this, as they are usually left in individual seats and even secured with seatbelts. While perfectly reasonable and safe while driving, the same seats and seatbelts cannot be unfastened by the little ones, and some of them died after being forgotten in a parked vehicle.

Specialists say that they do not think the problem happens because of distraction. Instead, tragedies caused by heatstroke usually occur when parents or caregivers change their routines. According to the National Safety Council, more deaths tend to result at the end of the week.

However, there is no scientific evidence to back the observation, just a discovery after monitoring statistics concerning heatstroke deaths in cars.

Parents and caregivers are advised to place an object with the child without which they cannot leave the car. Mobile phones and “their left shoe” are among suggestions. How far could you go without them? Well, let’s just not underestimate tired people that are in a rush.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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