October 16, 2019 – Summer is over, but hot car deaths continue.
On average, 1 child dies during the
month of October
, but this year at least 5 children have died in October
and we are only halfway through the month. This is officially the worst October for child hot car deaths in history. Parents and caregivers should not let their guard down.
At least
52 children
have died in hot cars so far this year, making it the 2nd worst year in history. Last year was
the worst
with a total of
54 child deaths.
While public awareness about hot car deaths is at an all-time high, so is the number of children dying in hot cars. This continues to happen because
nobody
believes it can happen to them. We need technological solutions to protect children.
T
he HOT CARS Act
(HR 3593) is a federal bill that would require vehicles to be equipped with safety technology to detect and alert a driver to the presence of a child to help prevent these unthinkable fatalities.
“With each passing day, the threat of another avoidable death of a child is very real. Inexpensive technology that can detect a child is available for automakers to install today. The public must insist that their U.S. members of Congress pass that the Hot Cars Act immediately," said, Janette Fennell, president and founder of KidsAndCars.org.
KidsAndCars.org is working with parents whose children have died in hot cars and over
70 leading national organizations
including injury prevention, child safety, insurance companies, law enforcement, EMS, and animal welfare, etc. to ensure it is passed quickly.
KidsAndCars.org encourages the public to take action to support the HOT CARS Act by contacting their U.S. members of Congress. A sample letter and instructions on how to find your U.S. Representative can be found
here
.
For more information about the HOT CARS Act and hot car tragedies visit:
