In addition to Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (PVH) cases as the primary cause of fatalities in the U.S., there are other dangers that children may face if left unattended in cars for a period of time. Let us discover these possible dangers so we can minimize the number of fatalities together!
In a report put out by the National Library of Medicine for the US listed below, in a period of 25 years between January 1990 – December 2014, non-traffic related injuries and fatalities for children between the ages of 0-14 figure resulted in 11,759 events with 3,396 deaths.
- 3,115 Unattended Children in hot vehicles (PVH) resulting in 729 deaths.
- 2,251 Back Overs with 1,232 deaths: unattended children resulting in death due to vehicle reversing over children.
- 1,439 Front Overs with 692 deaths: unattended children resulting in death due to vehicle driving over children.
- 777 Vehicles Knocked into motion accidentally by children resulting in 227 deaths: occurrence when children accidentally put vehicles into gear.
- 415 Underage Drivers resulting in 203 deaths: occurrence when children accidentally put vehicles into gear and into motion as well.
- 172 Power Window incidents resulting in 61 deaths.
- 134 Falls resulting in 54 deaths: this can include putting windows down or sunroof open resulting in children climbing out and falling.
- 79 Fires resulting in 41 deaths: this includes accidental fires started in or around the vehicle such as lighter, or playing matches in the vehicle.
- 377 Incidents resulting in other motor vehicles resulting in 157 deaths: unspecified but examples are shown below.
Remember! Children are always observant and can mimic their parent’s actions. They can watch attentively as you put the key into ignition, or press the engine on button, release the handbrake or e-brake off, place the gear lever into gear, roll down the windows, open the sunroof of the car, open the trunk or engine hood, and other actions related to vehicles. If children are left unattended in or around a vehicle, they have the possibility of starting the car, or even put it into gear. According to this article, www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2019/03/11/children-left-unattended-vehicles-heat-stroke-drowning/3131432002/, three unattended children were left in the vehicle. When the mother returned to look for the car, it was found in a river and two of three children perished. Some of the other incidents that can occur if children were left unattended in vehicles are as follows:
- Vehicles are stolen with children in it. Most of the time, they are not aware of this until they have stolen it.
- Power windows can either decapitate a child’s extremities or kill them.
- Children have been known to be strangled by seatbelts as well.
- Vehicle fires have been started by children with a lighter or matches in the vehicle.
- A small child may choke on something from inside a vehicle as children are known to put objects into their mouths.
- Children are known to remove their restraints by themselves, open the rear vehicle door and wonder off by themselves.
- There have been cases where opportunists see children who are left unattended in a vehicle and they can be abducted or had crimes conducted against them.
- Children also have known to explore and trapped in the trunk on a sunny day, which can lead to PVH occurrence.
The pie chart below is taken from kidsandcars.org website which indicate injuries for children in or around a motor vehicle. After reading this, do you still think that leaving children unattended in or around a vehicle is the right thing to do?
Source:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28933560/
www.edmontonpolice.ca/CrimePrevention/PersonalFamilySafety/ChildProtection/kidsincars
www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/child-safety
Pic:
