A 3-minute lesson from the North Dakota course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
A parked vehicle can turn deadly for a child in minutes, even on a mild day. Heatstroke is one of the leading causes of non-crash deaths among children, and even great parents can forget a child in the back seat.
Vehicle heatstroke
When a child left in a vehicle has a body temperature that rises quickly and dangerously, overwhelming the body's temperature control.
It's 65°F and cloudy, and you need to dash into a store with a sleeping toddler in the car. Take the child with you. Inside a car it can climb almost 20 degrees in 10 minutes and pass 110°F.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
What share of vehicle heatstroke deaths nationally happen when an unattended child gets into a vehicle?
About half
Nearly 3 in 10
Nearly 9 in 10
Less than 1 in 10
Answer: Nearly 3 in 10
Nationally, nearly 3 in 10 heatstroke deaths happen when an unattended child gains access to a vehicle.