As you enjoy Michigan’s warm summer months, be sure not to leave anyone behind in your car — the consequences can be deadly.
Each year, heatstroke claims the lives of nearly 40 children in cars, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Temperatures quickly rise in locked cars and can prove fatal for children, pets or people with disabilities left inside, experts say.
There have been 13 hot car deaths so far in 2025, according to KidsandCars.org. The most recent death occurred July 1 in Texas. Whether you park your car in the shade or crack the windows open won’t make a difference to the interior car temperature, the NHTSA warns.
“It’s important for everyone to understand these tragedies can happen to anyone — but are always preventable,” the NHTSA’s website says.
Here’s what to know.
How dangerous is being left in a hot car?
Children, people with disabilities and pets should never be left alone in a hot car as doing so can be life-threatening, the National Weather Service warns. At least 1,132 children have died from heatstroke over the last 35 years because they were forgotten or trapped in a hot vehicle, per KidsandCars.org.
Cars can heat up quickly; interior temperatures can rise 20 degrees in 10 minutes. Even if it’s only in the 60s outside, the temperature inside a car can reach 110 degrees.
Why are children more at risk?
Being left in a hot car can be particularly dangerous for children because their body temperatures rise three to five times faster than that of adults, per the NHTSA.
Those left in a hot car can begin to experience heat stroke, a life-threatening illness. Though heat-related deaths are preventable, over 1,000 Americans are killed by excessive heat annually, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
How many hot car deaths have happened in Michigan?
Michigan has seen 13 reported cases of child hot-car deaths between 1990 and 2024, according to KidsandCars.org.
When do hot car deaths typically occur?
The most hot-car incidents occur from May through September, per NoHeatStroke.org. Children have died in cars every month of the year, although June, July, and August are the most common months.
Total child vehicular deaths, by month, 1998-2024:
Why do hot car deaths occur?
Most hot car deaths are accidental, with a loved one forgotten in a vehicle, according to data from San Jose State University’s Department of of Meteorology and Climate Science.
A heatstroke fact sheet (PDF link here) provided by KidsandCars.org highlights how broad the range of caregivers involved in these accidents is. They include: fathers, mothers, sitters, social workers, police officers, nurses and members of the armed services.
Being stressed can increase your likelihood of memory lapses that lead to leaving your child in a car, according to a prominent cognitive neuroscience expert who has researched the function of memory in such tragedies.
David Diamond, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, told Consumer Reports recently, “Forgetting a child is not a negligence problem but a memory problem.”
“The most common response is that only bad or negligent parents forget kids in cars,” Diamond says. “It’s a matter of circumstances. It can happen to everyone.”
How to keep your pets safe from hot cars
Potentially fatal heat-related illnesses can also impact pets, the American Veterinary Medical Association warns. Just as with people, you should never leave pets alone in a car, not even for a minute.
Consider if a pet really needs to come on a trip in your car, and if you bring them, bring the appropriate equipment and always remember to bring your pet out of the car with you immediately.
What can you do to avoid hot car deaths?
To prevent putting children at risk, Kids and Cars recommends the following safety tips:
Create a visual cue: Place a favorite toy in the car seat when it’s empty. When you put your child in the car seat, move the toy to the front passenger seat as a reminder to check the back seat before leaving the car.
Create a reminder to check the back seat.
Make sure you have a strict policy in place with your child care provider to call you immediately if your child doesn’t show up as planned.
Keep vehicles locked at all times, even in driveways or garages. Ask home visitors, child care providers and neighbors to do the same.
Keep car keys and remote openers out of reach of children.
Teach toddlers how to honk the horn of a car if they become trapped inside.
Never leave children alone in or around cars, not even for a minute.
If you see a child alone in a vehicle, get involved. Call 911 immediately. If the child seems hot or sick, get them out of the vehicle as quickly as possible.
USA TODAY contributed.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Severe summer heat can kill. Follow these tips to protect your kids, pets from hot cars
Reporting by Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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