ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – The Virginia Department of Transportation is warning the public about leaving children in the car even with fall temperatures in the air.

Temperatures as low as 60 degrees outside are still dangerous for anyone left inside the car as temperatures can rise quickly causing vehicular heatstroke.

Parents and caregivers are warned to make sure not to leave children especially sleeping babies in the car and to always check the back seat before getting out.

According to NHTSA, more than 970 children have died of heatstroke because they were left or became trapped in a hot car.

Key facts include:

  • A child’s body temperature rises 3-5x faster than an adult’s. Therefore when they are left in a vehicle, their temperature can rise quickly.
  • Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature is around 104 degrees.
  • A child can die when their body temperature reaches 107 degrees.
  • 29 children died in 2023 due to heatstroke in vehicles
  • In 2018 and 2019, there were a record of 53 deaths of children which is the most in 25 years, according to NoHeatstroke.org.
  • 1 in 4 hot car deaths happen when children are trapped in cars.

Steps to prevent hot car deaths include:

  1. Never leave your child in a hot car unattended for a long time. Rolling down the windows or parking in the shade does little to nothing to change the inside temperature of the car.
  2. Make it a habit to check the entirety of your car before locking the doors and walking away.
  3. Ask your childcare provider to call if your child does not show up for care as expected.
  4. Place a personal item, such as a purse or briefcase, in the backseat as another reminder before you lock the car.
  5. Store car keys where a child can not reach them to teach them that a car is not a play area.

Bystanders can also help by looking in parking lots to make sure a child is not trapped in a hot car. If you see a child alone in the car call 911 and act immediately.

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