A child left in a hot car — or who gets into an unlocked vehicle unnoticed — can die of heat stroke very quickly. Tragically, dozens of U.S. children lose their lives this way each year. These deaths are preventable with some simple actions by parents and caregivers.

Here's what the American Academy of Pediatrics says about the danger of hot cars, and the steps you can take to help keep your child safe.

Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths in children under age 15. Heatstroke happens when the body is not able to cool itself quickly enough, and children are at higher risk for heatstroke than adults. A child's body heats up 3 to 5 times faster than an adult's does. A child's major organs begin to shut down when their core body temperature reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit. A child can die when their temperature reaches 107 degrees.

Heatstroke can happen surprisingly fast in a hot car. In just 10 minutes, a car’s internal temperature can rise 20 degrees. It's also important to know that cracking a window, parking in the shade or using the air conditioner does little to change the inside temperature of the car. Additionally, it doesn’t need to be very hot outside for the temperature inside to become dangerous. Heatstroke can happen when the outside temperature is as low as 57 degrees. Because of climate change, we can expect more days to be hotter and hotter days can happen throughout the year, not just in summer months.

Keep in mind: Very loving and attentive parents and caregivers can forget a child is in the back seat. Being especially busy or distracted increases the risk, and distractions are everywhere. To prevent the unthinkable, always check the back seat, avoid distractions while driving, and keep important items like your phone or purse in the back seat so you have extra reason to remember to check there when you get out of the car.

If there are changes to your usual routine, such as someone else driving your child, stay on a higher alert. Check with the driver to make sure your child arrived safely and advise caregivers to also use these same techniques (like the phone in the backseat) to prevent injuries.

It is also crucial to teach your child that playing in the car is not safe. Keep your car locked when it is parked to prevent a curious child from entering when no one is around: 1 in 4 hot car deaths happen when a child mistakenly locks themselves inside. Make sure children do not have easy access to your car keys and keep rear fold-down seats closed to prevent a child from crawling into the trunk from inside the car.

The car should be one of the first places you should check if your child is missing. Always check a pool or body of water if you are near one and then the car, including the trunk. If you see an unattended child in a car and are concerned, call 911 immediately.

If you find a child in the car, and the child is not responsive or is in pain, immediately call 911, remove them from the car, and spray the child with cool water. Remain with the child until help arrives.

Although legislation has been introduced, there is currently no federal law in place to prevent child heat stroke deaths in cars. However, many states have passed laws that set limits on whether or how long a child can be left in a car. This is especially common in warm-weather states. For example, in California, children under age 7 can't be left alone in any vehicle unless supervised by someone who's at least 12 years old. In Florida, children under age 6 cannot be left alone in a vehicle longer than 15 minutes if the car is turned off; if the vehicle is running, the child can't be left alone inside it at all.

But state law is not required to implement the safest behaviors. NEVER leave a young child alone in a car for any length of time.

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Katherine Hoops, MD, JD, MPH, FAAP is a pediatric critical care physician in Maryland and President of the Maryland Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics.

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