Human Services Officials Say Don't Leave Children Alone in Cars Ever!

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL--- As the week’s weather forecast predicts several consecutive days of near-100 degree temperatures, officials with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services want to remind parents to supervise their children at all times.

In recent days, local and national news has covered incidents of children being left in automobiles. The interior of a vehicle can heat up in a very short amount of time, putting a child at risk of life-threatening injuries. Other children have recently been injured and have even died during outdoor activities such as swimming and boating.

Oklahoma broadcasters, in cooperation with the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters and OKDHS, are regularly airing public service announcements advising parents and caretakers not to leave children unattended in vehicles for any reason at any time. A companion statewide child safety campaign, Think.Prevent.Live, also reminds parents that a responsible adult should supervise children around vehicles, around water and during all summer activities.

Education and awareness are the keys according to George Earl Johnson Jr., OKDHS communications director.

“We hope to raise public awareness about not leaving infants and toddlers alone to reduce the number of children who may be injured,” Johnson said. “Most parents think they are only going to be gone for a few minutes when they leave their child unattended in a car or leave their child outside when they go inside to answer the phone.

“In the multi-tasking world we are living in, it is too easy to point a finger and say, ‘How can someone do that?’ However, it is incumbent upon all of us to be mindful of how we can check and recheck our own actions.”

Under the 90°F plus heat of the Oklahoma summer sun the temperature inside an automobile can rise more than 50°F in less than one hour. In 15-20 minutes the same car’s temperature will reach 120°. Because of its small body mass, a child’s body heats up three to five times faster then an adult’s, which puts a child at much greater risk of serious injury or death quickly. Medical professionals have stated that a core body temperature of 107°F is lethal. That temperature is reached in a child’s body much faster than in an adult.

At the time this release was written, the outside air temperature in Oklahoma City was 101°F. With the windows cracked, the thermometer in the back seat of Johnson’s vehicle read 165°F.

In June 2000, the OKDHS started its first “Don’t Leave Kids in Hot Cars” campaign. During the years 1997 to 2000, seven children died in Oklahoma as a result of being left in hot cars. There were no deaths of children as a result of being left in hot cars from June 2000 through July 2003. There have been seven deaths in Oklahoma as a result of children being left in or entrapped in automobiles since August 2003.

Last spring, the Think.Prevent.Live campaign debuted with an announcement on water safety. This summer, as children go outdoors to ride bicycles, run and play, the campaign is informing everyone about the importance of supervising children around vehicles. Parents may visit http://www.thinkpreventlive.org for helpful information on child safety.

“We believe that through public education efforts, several children’s lives will be saved the rest of this summer when a citizen sees a child unattended in a vehicle and takes the appropriate actions. In the best interest of the whole family, parents or caregivers should not leave small children alone—ever! That’s the best preventative effort any of us can take for our children.”

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NOTE TO NEWS AND ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Jan Null, adjunct professor of geosciences at San Francisco State University, has collected a significant amount of information about hyperthermia deaths of children in vehicles in the United States. The Web site can be found at: http://ggweather.com/heat/.

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