MEDIA RELEASE: Once You Park - Stop, Look, Lock!

Last Updated: 7/21/2025

Vehicular heatstroke, also known as hot car deaths, occurs when the body overheats and cannot cool down. Every year, an average of 37 children die from heatstroke, either because they were left or became trapped in a car. More than half of the deaths that occur in hot cars each year are children under the age of two.

Heatstroke can happen one of 3 ways:

• Children are forgotten in vehicles by parents/caregivers, who intended to drop them off at daycare or pre-school. This commonly occurs due to a change in routine.
• Children climb into a vehicle without supervision while playing or hiding and are unable to get out due to activated child locks, getting trapped in a trunk, etc.
• Children are knowingly left in vehicles by parents or caregivers (e.g., for a quick errand).

Many people may think heatstroke is something that only occurs during the summer or on very hot days. Make no mistake; hot car deaths can happen even when the outdoor air temperatures are as low as 57 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, heatstroke has occurred as early as March. This is due to the combination of children’s sensitivity to heat, and how quickly a vehicle can heat up. A child’s body temperature rises 3-5 times faster than adults, and in 10 minutes, a car can heat up by as much as 20 degrees (even with the windows rolled down or parked in the shade).

How to protect children from heatstroke:

• Get in the habit of checking your entire vehicle, especially the back seat, every time you exit the car. (Remember: Stop. Look. Lock.)
• Teach children that vehicles are not a place to play.
• Always lock your vehicle, even in your driveway and keep keys and fobs out of reach.
• Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended, even “just for a minute”. A minute doesn’t seem like a long time, but something could easily happen to you (as the caregiver) or the vehicle the child is in during that minute.
• If you see a child alone in a vehicle, call 911, and don’t leave until the situation has been resolved.

For more information on heatstroke, visit nhtsa.gov/campaign/heatstroke. For current data, visit noheatstroke.org.

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