Safe Kids and GM Northeast Team Up for Safety Demos at Wolf Trap

June 27, 2012 3:36 pm ET

On Tuesday, June 26, we joined Safe Kids at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts for a morning of vehicle safety demonstrations.

Safe Kids and the General Motors Foundation began working together in 1997 when they started the Safe Kids Buckle Up Program.  Since that time their work together has grown to include child safety awareness in and around vehicles.  At Wolf Trap on Tuesday, we spent time talking to parents and child caregivers about using their car seats properly, temperature danger in closed cars and vehicle parameter safety.

Courtesy of Koons Chevy Buick GMC we were able to help parents “spot the tot” around a parked Chevrolet Malibu and see just how far behind a vehicle a person really is before they can be seen by the driver.  We were also able to demonstrate just how quickly and how hot the inside of a car can get.  We were in a mere 75 degree heat and the demo vehicle reached more than 100 degrees in only a couple hours.  Safe Kids urges folks to never leave a child alone in a vehicle, not even for a minute.

If you missed this week’s vehicle safety demos at Wolf Trap and you’d like to join us next time, stay tuned to Driving The Northeast where we’ll be announcing our next event soon.

Safety Facts

• Within 10 minutes, the inside temperature of a vehicle can be 20 degrees hotter than the outside temperature; after 30 minutes the vehicle’s temperature can be up to 34 degrees hotter
• On average, 38 children die annually from hyperthermia or heat stroke when they are unattended in a vehicle.
• When installed and used correctly, child safety seats and safety belts can prevent injuries and save lives. Child safety seats can reduce fatal injury by up to 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers (ages 1 to 4).

(Source: “Traffic Safety Facts: Not-in-Traffic Surveillance 2007- Children.” NHTSA’s National Center for Crash Statistics. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, June 2009.)