Vehicular Heatstroke Prevention

Nearly every state in the United States has been affected by a pediatric vehicular heatstroke death. Use this campaign material to help educate parents and caregivers about the dangers of hot cars, including children getting trapped in an unlocked vehicle, being forgotten or mistakenly left, or purposely left. Material also includes safety information for bystanders to safely remove a child from a hot car.

Timely Messaging: 

• Monitor weather conditions in your area to determine the best time to use this communication material. While summertime is the peak season, heatstroke can occur in outdoor temperatures as low as 60 degrees. 
• May 1, Heatstroke Prevention Day.  

Many assets are available in English and Spanish. Share this information with partner organizations to help spread the message across all communities. 

Note: On May 1, 2024, NHTSA will announce an updated call to action for this campaign: Once You Park, Stop. Look. Lock. Communication and marketing material featuring the call to action are now available on this page, but should not be referenced or used until the campaign kicks off on May 1. 

We've prepared talking points related to Heatstroke Prevention. After downloading, we encourage you to add local stats and facts to the document. 

We've produced sample news release that can be used for media outreach.

This social media playbook contains sample social media content in English and Spanish. Download this guide for instructions on posting graphics to Facebook, X and Instagram. The content is designed for easy posting and seamless integration into your current social media strategy.

Also, additional sample social media posts are available for download.

• NHTSA.gov Heatstroke Prevention: English | Spanish
• Safe Kids Worldwide Heatstroke
• National Safety Council Heatstroke
• Sign up to get campaign updates via email from Traffic Safety Marketing