Florida Tops the Nation in Hot Car Deaths Again. Here’s What Every Driver Needs to Know

The numbers are stark: So far this year, 12 children have died after being left in hot cars across the United States. Four of those tragedies happened in Florida, making it the deadliest state for this entirely preventable kind of accident. The most recent Florida case was July 5 in Hallandale Beach, where a two-year-old was left in a vehicle while under a babysitter’s care.

Just days earlier, an 18-month-old boy died in Plantation after his father drove straight to work, forgetting the child was still in the car.

Since 1990, more than 1,180 children have died in hot cars nationwide, and another 7,500 survived with lasting injuries, according to Kids and Car Safety. The organization stresses that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the person responsible was a loving, attentive parent who simply forgot.

Roughly 45% of those forgotten children were supposed to have been dropped off at daycare. “It can happen to anyone,” the group warns. Even on mild days, a car’s interior can reach deadly temperatures within minutes. At an outside temperature of 72 degrees, the inside of a parked car can hit 117 degrees in an hour, and children’s bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults’.

So what can you do? Start by making a simple habit: Every time you park, open the back door and check the seat. Put something you can’t start the day without, your phone, your work badge, your laptop, in the back seat next to the child. Ask your daycare to call you if your child doesn’t arrive on time.

And never leave car keys within a child’s reach; keep vehicles locked at all times, even in the garage. If a child goes missing, check every vehicle in the area first, including the trunk. These small steps can save a life.