Stop Lock and Look: Preventing Heatstrokes in 2026

Global warming makes heatstrokes even more of a concern for children left alone in cars according to Laura Dunn of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. May 1st was National Heatstroke Prevention Day. The government agency is shifting their focus to a new campaign centered on raising awareness about pediatric vehicular heatstroke. On average 37 children die every year because of heatstrokes sustained in a parent or guardian’s car. The new campaign aims to bring that number as close to zero as possible.

” So it only takes a few minutes for a car to become deadly hot. And for children, in particular, they are not able to regulate their body temperature like an adult. Their thermoregulatory system is not as developed,” said Dunn.

According to UNICEF children are also more prone to heatstrokes than adults because they sweat less per kilogram and due to their higher metabolism than adults. It is also worth taking into account that especially young children like babies and toddlers are at high risk because their immune system is still developing according to UNICEF.

Laura Dunn is a highway safety specialist for the NHTSA. Her agency has another campaign titled, “Never Happens” aiming at parents who subscribe to the common belief that this type of tragedy is out of the realm of possibility.

“ We named it that because parents often think that heatstroke will never happen to their children. We see comments in these stories where parents say, ‘Oh, that would never happen to me or my family. That would never happen to a good parent,’” said Dunn.“ Unfortunately, never does happen. This happens to good, attentive, and loving parents, because it’s a failure of human memory in these cases of forgetting. But incorporating that stop, look, lock as part of your daily routine these kinds of deaths can be prevented.”

The NHTSA is insistent on building good habits so parents do not deviate from what keeps their children safe when it matters most. One misconception about car related heatstroke is that it must be very hot outside for the inside of a car to become a dangerous environment for a child.

“ in just about ten minutes, the inside of a car can heat up by about twenty degrees,” Dunn explained. “ It’s kind of like the greenhouse effect, where sun shines in through the windows and just heats the inside of that vehicle, exponentially. It just keeps getting hotter and hotter. “

For tips on how to keep your children safe from car related heat stress, visit   nhtsa.gov/heatstroke .

Photo by: Noey smiley