On average 37 kids die each year from heat-related deaths due to being trapped in hot cars. That’s according to statistics from KidsAndCars.org.
Those deaths are 100 percent preventable and a new piece of legislation going into effect Sunday in Kansas will bring more awareness to the problem. KidsAndCars.org, Safe Kids Kansas and the Humane Society Legislative Fund of Kansas helped craft the Good Samaritan Act, which essentially protects good samaritans from lawsuits if they break into a vehicle to rescue a trapped child or animal. Amber Rollins, Director of KidsAndCars.org.
Rollins says 18 child deaths have already been reported this year and calls the new law a “wonderful second line of defense” to prevent these tragedies. The first line of defense is educating the public.
Miranda Pratt, Development Director with the Humane Society Legislative Fund explains some of the parameters of the new law.
Eighty percent of the temperature increasing inside a hot car happens within the first 10 minutes and cracking a window has been proven to not be effective, according to Pratt.
The new law applies to good samaritans who notice trapped vulnerable persons including children, or an impaired adult and domestic animals, including dogs, cats or others that may be kept as pets. It does not apply to livestock or other farm animals.
