MoDOT Reminds Drivers: Stop. Look. Lock. To Prevent Hot Car Deaths

Park Hills, Mo. (KFMO) - As summer temperatures rise, the Missouri Department of Transportation is reminding parents and caregivers that a parked vehicle can quickly become deadly for children.

Hot car deaths are the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children age 14 and younger.

MoDOT Area Engineer Corbin Carlton says parents and caregivers should remember three simple words whenever they leave a vehicle: Stop. Look. Lock.

Carlton says there are three primary scenarios in which children suffer heatstroke in vehicles.

The first is when children are accidentally forgotten in a vehicle by a parent or caregiver. The second occurs when children gain access to an unlocked vehicle and become trapped inside. The third is when a child is knowingly left alone in a vehicle.

MoDOT says it is critical that parents, caregivers and all drivers understand that children should never be left alone in a vehicle, not even for a minute.

Temperatures inside a vehicle can rise extremely quickly. In just 10 minutes, the temperature inside a car can increase by as much as 20 degrees. Rolling down a window provides little protection from the heat.

Heatstroke deaths have occurred in vehicles parked in shaded areas and even when outdoor temperatures are 80 degrees or lower. In some cases, heatstroke has occurred when the outside temperature was as low as 57 degrees.

Summer is the peak season for these tragic incidents, with children dying from vehicular heatstroke at an average rate of about two per week.

MoDOT encourages parents and caregivers to make checking the back seat part of their routine and to always make sure children are accounted for before locking the vehicle.

Stop. Look. Lock. A few extra seconds could save a child's life.