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Last modified: Monday, July 6, 2009 8:19 AM CDT
Heat stroke leading cause of non-crash deaths
by Erin C. Hevern • Daily News
As summer temperatures hit their peak nationwide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants parents to know the serious risks associated with leaving children alone in a vehicle.
Research recently released by the administration illustrates that child hyperthermia, more commonly referred to as heat stroke, is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle deaths.
"Even with the windows rolled down 2 inches, it only takes 10 minutes for the inside of a vehicle to reach deadly temperatures on a hot summer day," said NHTSA Acting Deputy Administrator Ronald Medford in an official NHTSA news release.
According to the 2007 NHTSA statistical summary, incidents of hyperthermia, involving excessive heat inside the vehicle, accounted for an annual average of 27 child fatalities and 61 percent of the non-crash fatalities involving children.
Other statistics indicate that 262 children under 14 years of age are killed, while 115,000 are injured in not-in-traffic incidents. Of that number, 44 fatalities and 105,000 injuries are the result of non-crashes. In addition to hyperthermia, strangulation by power windows and carbon monoxide poisoning are also causes of infant or child deaths.
"Children should never be left alone in or around a motor vehicle - not even for a quick errand," Medford said. "Any number of things can go critically wrong in the blink of an eye."
Due to the Fourth of July holiday, and the early printing of Sunday's edition of the Daily News, local law enforcement and safety officials were unavailable to provide data on the occurrences of not-in-traffic incidents connected to hyperthermia in children.
In order to prevent hyperthermia, the NHTSA offers the following safety tips:
Never let your children play in an unattended vehicle.
Make a habit of looking in the vehicle - front and back - before locking the door and walking away.
Do things to remind yourself that a child is in the vehicle such as :
• Writing yourself a note and putting it where you will see it when you leave the vehicle;
• Place your purse, briefcase or something else you need in the back seat so that you check the back seat when you leave the vehicle.
The NHTSA encourages anyone who sees a child alone in a hot vehicle to call their local law enforcement agency.
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