Background
Fatalities in children left unattended in parked motor vehicles are being reported frequently in the last decade but little research has been done analysing the circumstances leading to such preventable deaths in India.
Objectives
To analyse circumstances leading to fatalities in children left unattended in parked motor vehicles in India.
Methods
This study was a descriptive analysis conducted on the basis of an Internet search of published news in major Indian newspapers/channels using different combination of keywords. We extracted data from the published news using a pre-determined tool.
Results
Between 2011 and 2020, there were 23 incidents that resulted in 40 fatalities across India mostly in summer months. Majority of children were 4–6 years of age (26/40). Ninety percent of children gained access to unattended vehicles for playing and getting locked accidentally (36/40) while remaining cases involved being forgotten (3/40) or intentionally left behind (1/40).
Conclusion
Majority of hyperthermia-related deaths occurred while children gained access to unattended vehicles for playing and getting locked accidentally.
Parked vehicles can create deadly environments for young children who are left unattended. This study was a descriptive analysis to describe circumstances leading to death in children left unattended in parked motor vehicles in India. Between 2011 and 2018, there were 16 incidents that resulted in 28 fatalities across India, mostly in the summer months. The majority of children (19/28) were aged 4–6 years, of whom 25 (89%) gained access to unattended vehicles and became accidentally locked in. Hyperthermia-related deaths are a poorly recognised type of vehicular injury in India; there has been no analysis to describe circumstances leading to such fatalities.
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