Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Help Us Save Kids From Heatstroke on July 31st

Problem: As we approach rising summer temperatures, the danger for kids left in hot vehiclesincreases exponentially: at least 17 children have already died this year from vehicular heatstroke. Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle fatalities for children 14 and under. Nearly every 10 days, a child dies from being left in a hot vehicle. More than half (52%) of kids who died from vehicular heatstroke were “forgotten” by their caregiver. This is a 100-percent preventable tragedy.
Action: NHTSA, Safe Kids, and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) are asking you to help us raise awareness about the dangers of kids and cars through a concerted day-long social media conversation. NHTSA, Safe Kids, and ACF are reaching out to State and safety partners to tweet and post on Facebook every 30 minutes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. @NHTSAgov will be using the hash tags #checkforbaby and #heatstrokekills on all its social media posts, and we’d like you to do the same.
Here are some sample social media posts to get you in the conversation:
  • On a hot day, a child’s temp heats up to 5 times
    faster than an adult’s does. #checkforbaby #heatstrokekills
  • High body temperatures can cause permanent
    injury or even death. Where’s Baby? Look before
    you lock! #heatstrokekills #checkforbaby
  • 52% of kids who died from vehicular heatstroke
    were “forgotten” in the vehicle. #heatstrokekills #checkforbaby
  • Did you know? In more than 29% of cases of fatal heatstroke, a child got into the vehicle on their own. #heatstrokekills #checkforbaby
  • Last year alone, 44 children in the United States
    lost their lives after being left in unattended motor
    vehicles—and an unknown number of others were
    moderately to severely injured. #heatstrokekills
    #checkforbaby
  • No child should die of #heatstroke from
    being left alone in a hot car! Help stop this
    100-percent preventable tragedy. #heatstrokekills
    #checkforbaby
Share this with your followers, readers, family and friends – help us get the word out about vehicular heatstroke. Join us July 31st on Twitter and Facebook to save children’s lives this summer.

Forward this on to your followers/readers and encourage anyone interested in vehicle and child safety to join our conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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SaferCar App Can Help Keep Your Family Safe

Check out our SaferCar app for your mobile device, which gives you immediate access to key safety information to help you make informed decisions, with features including:
Help with car seats: Quickly get driving directions to the nearest child-seat inspection station and get assistance to properly install car seats and boosters.
Information for buying a car: Access our 5-Star Safety Ratings and compare different makes and models before you decide to buy.
Stay connected: Be notified of safety issues for your vehicles. Use the app to register a vehicle and we will notify you if we find it has a safety issue. The SaferCar app also makes it simple to submit complaints to NHTSA regarding possible safety problems with your car.
Safety Headlines and Alerts: Receive important news and information from NHTSA, as well as recall notices and push notices on your vehicles.

NHTSA on YouTube

Teen Youtube
Our "5 to Drive" campaign PSA is in an easy to view place: NHTSA's YouTube channel. Additional videos for multiple campaigns, along with vehicle crash test videos, can be found through our YouTube page.

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