Q: Why did the man put the car in the oven?
A: He wanted a hot rod!
If you grew up in central Iowa between the 50s and the 80s, you likely heard a kid tell that riddle during an episode of the "The Floppy Show” – the famed children’s cartoon show on WHO-TV. Host Duane Ellett and his lovable beagle puppet Floppy chuckled at that popular joke hundreds of times.
But hot cars and kiddos are no laughing matter. In 2024, 39 children died of heatstroke in vehicles – up 35% from 2023. Four children have died this year when left or trapped in hot cars.
When a child is left in a vehicle, their temperature can rise three to five times faster than an adult’s. Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees. Death occurs at 107 degrees or higher. More than half of pediatric vehicular heatstroke deaths are a result of a parent or caregiver forgetting a child in a car.
On a sunny 85-degree day, like today, a car's interior can heat up 20 degrees or more within 10 minutes and can reach 119 degrees in 30 minutes. Keeping children safe starts with these simple steps:
1. Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended.
2. Always check your entire vehicle – especially the back seat – before locking the doors.
3. Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t arrive for care.
4. Place a personal item in the back seat as a reminder to look before you lock.
5. Lock vehicle doors, store car keys/fobs out of a child's reach, and teach them that it’s not a play area.
In 2025, in Iowa, 133 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of seven since last Friday. In Iowa in 2024, there were 355 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, visit the daily fatality report.