Ad Council PSAs warn of hot car deaths as summer approaches

As warmer temperatures approach and people everywhere get excited for summer, the Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are interrupting the excitement with a word of caution. In partnership with agency Chemistry, the organizations have launched new PSAs to educate parents and caretakers on the deadly dangers of hot cars, especially for children. The campaign, titled “Never Happens,” ushers in summer with national TV, radio, print, outdoor and digital ads in English and Spanish that call attention to real situations that can occur to parents and caretakers, even when they think it could never happen to them. Two 60-second spots depict vignettes of life’s imperfect moments to show the many things parents promise never to do. However, “never” happens, such as forgetting a child in a hot car or having a child stuck in a car. The campaign reinforces the call-to-action to always ”Stop. Look. Lock” to prevent that from happening. It also educates on how dangerous hot cars can be. “Hot car deaths are heartbreaking, but they are also preventable,” said Sophie Shulman, deputy administrator at the NHTSA. “We are asking all Americans to understand the risks posed by hot cars and do their part to keep children safe. When you park, Stop. Look. Lock.” The PSA comes as pediatric vehicular heatstroke (child hot car deaths) is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related fatalities for kids 14 and younger. According to the NHTSA, hot car deaths can happen in vehicles parked in shaded areas and in temperatures as low as 60 degrees, even with the windows cracked. Meanwhile, heat can have devastating effects on children, as their bodies warm three to five times faster than adult bodies. Most heatstroke scenarios occur because a child is forgotten in a hot car (52.7%), a child gained access to an unlocked car and became trapped (25.8%) or a child was left behind in a vehicle (20.1%). “As parents, we say we’ll never do a ton of things, but ‘never’ happens all the time. To get parents to believe that child hot car deaths can happen to them, we reminded them of all the other ‘nevers’ that have already become a reality for them," said Will Benham, executive creative director at Chemistry. As part of the campaign, parents and caretakers are invited to visit NHTSA.gov/Heatstroke to find information about preventing hot car injury and death.

Ad Council PSAs warn of hot car deaths as summer approaches

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