GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Despite Michigan's cooler weather, heatstroke in vehicles still pose a serious risk. Between 1998 and 2025, eleven children in the state died after being left in hot cars, according to data from NoHeatStroke.org from San Jose State University.
Experts point to alarming rises in temperature within vehicles. When the outside temperature is 70 degrees, the internal vehicle temperature can reach 100 degrees in just 20 minutes. At 80 degrees outside, it takes only 10 minutes to hit 100, and 20 minutes to reach 109 degrees. In 90-degree weather, the temperature inside a car can reach 100 degrees in as little as five minutes, 109 degrees in 10 minutes, and 116 degrees in just 15 minutes. These figures are based on research that includes vehicles with cracked windows.
Children are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures, as their body temperatures rise three to five times faster than adults. A body temperature of 104 degrees indicates heatstroke and a core temperature of 107 degrees can result in death. More than half of the heatstroke-related deaths in the U.S. involved children under the age of 2.
The reasons children are left unattended in cars are concerning. In more than half of these instances, the caregiver forgets the child is in the vehicle, while 20 percent of the time, caregivers intentionally leave the child alone.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration recommends several preventive steps:
With these recommendations, caregivers can help prevent tragic accidents related to heatstroke in vehicles.
Resources:
NHTSA Urges the Public to Help Prevent Child Heatstroke (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Heatstroke Deaths of Children in Vehicles (San Jose State: NoHeatstroke.org)
Children are Dying in Hot Cars (National Safety Council)
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