Hot-Car Deaths: Phoenix Father Creates App To Help Save Kids

PHOENIX, AZ — Amid frequent cases of children dying from being left in hot cars, a Phoenix man has created an app designed to remind parents not to let that happen. The app is called the BackSeat. With temperatures reaching nearly 110 degrees this week in Phoenix, every life-saving measure should be taken.

Erin O'Connor, 45, a father of three, decided to take action. “It’s a special kind of hell knowing you've been working on a project that would stop this from happening and you haven’t been able to get it out there in time,” O’Connor told the Republic. “Not one more, not with the BackSeat app.”

On average, 37 kids a year die of vehicular heat stroke, according to national statistics. Excluding crashes, that’s the leading cause of death in vehicles for children 14 years and younger.

Here's how the app works. When you go on a car trip and you go over 20 mph (or another speed you designate), the free app sends you a notification and you can confirm whether or not you have a kid in the car. If you do, then the app will alert you when the car stops, as a reminder to take the child inside with you.

If you ignore this reminder, you'll be sent six emails and texts in succession six minutes later, each getting louder and louder, ignoring a phone's "vibrate" setting or low ringtone volume.

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If you continue to ignore the reminders, the app will alert three people you have designated, showing them your GPS location as well as vehicle information.

Kids and Cars reports that seven kids have died this year from being left in hot cars.

“The fact is that heatstroke tragedies happen to loving, caring, attentive parents,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. “The vast majority of these tragedies happen when a child is mistakenly left behind in a vehicle or when an unattended child gains access to a vehicle.”

Veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward posted a video on YouTube in 2012 showing how fast it gets hot. On a summer day in an unknown location, with all four windows cracked one to two inches, the car reached 117 degrees within 30 minutes.

See more:

• 4 Recent Hot Car Deaths Prompts Urgent Plea for New Safety Technology
• Mother Reflects on Her Son's Hot Car Death

Article image via Shutterstock