Keeping children safe this summer

Jun 25, 2010 1:57 PM

Summer can be a fun time of year with warm weather, school is out, and everyone heads outdoors. But it also means that parents need to be extra vigilant to keep tabs on their children and help keep them safe. The child safety group Kids and Cars have documented 100 non-traffic fatalities so far this year--35 frontovers, 32 backovers, and 18 related to heat. Sadly, we can expect more tragic accidents as injuries and deaths peak in the summer months. Just last week seven children died from heat stroke after being left in the car.

Here are some tips that everyone can do to help prevent such tragedies.

Never leave a kid alone in a car. In the summer, there are significant risks, with the interior temperature rising quickly, and children being particularly vulnerable to temperature changes. Beyond temperature, there are security concerns and risk that a child could disengage a parking brake or otherwise move the vehicle.
Check your car before you leave, especially if you have a change in your normal routine. To avoid accidentally leaving a child in the car, some people use a stuffed animal in the front seat as a reminder that a child is in the rear. You can also put an essential item like your purse or briefcase in the back seat, so you know you have to open the back door.
Before you pull in or out of a driveway, check all around to make sure no children are in the way and proceed slowly, with music off. A backup camera can help if you have a large vehicle. (See our report “The dangers of blind zones.”)
Lock up your car. To avoid children playing in the car when it is unattended, keep it locked with the windows up when you are not using it.
Look around. If you are in a parking lot, casually look around to see if any children are left in their vehicles. If so, take action and call 911 immediately.

For more on child safety, see our kids and cars safety section.

—Liza Barth