Child Hot Vehicle Laws
Did You Know?
Laws in many states in the U.S. and all over the world are being enacted to protect children and pets from being left unattended in cars.
Increasing awareness of child hot vehicle deaths have led to new laws in many states in the U.S. and all over the world. As a result of increased awareness, U.S. and European safety regulators are considering mandating child presence detection systems to avoid the deaths of unattended children in hot vehicles.
U.S. Child Hot Vehicle Laws
Twenty-one states in the U.S. have Unattended Child in Vehicle Laws that have specific language addressing leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. A total of 31 states have laws about leaving animals unattended in vehicles.

Despite having these laws, several states have significant exceptions and qualifiers in their language:
- Two states’ (Alabama and Wisconsin) laws only apply to paid childcare providers.
- Two states’ (Kentucky and Missouri) laws only apply if a child is injured or dies.
- Four states allow a period of time a child may be left unattended before it becomes a crime.
- Florida allows 15-minutes.
- Illinois allows 10-minutes.
- Hawaii and Texas 5-minutes each.
- Washington’s law only applies to a running vehicle or one parked outside a tavern or similar establishment.
- Rhode Island’s law only allows for a verbal warning does not establish a record of the violation.
- The remaining 29 states do not have laws specifically against leaving a child unattended in a vehicle, but injuries and deaths can be prosecuted under child endangerment, manslaughter, and homicide statutes.
New Jersey is currently the only state that has a law requiring a parent or guardian to notify childcare centers if a child will be absent and also requires childcare centers to notify a parent or guardian in the event of an unexcused child absence (formerly bill A-3277/S-559 signed into law on 1/7/2021).
In 2017, the United States Congress introduced the Hot Cars Act of 2017 requiring all new passenger vehicles to include child safety alert systems which would include auditory and visual alerts when a driver turns the vehicle off. The bill has yet to pass into law. Advocates in the U.S., where 53 children died in hot vehicles in both 2018 and 2019, highest number ever, and 53 in 2019, say that a system that would detect the presence of a child anywhere in a vehicle would be more efficient than a vehicle seat alarm, since up to one-third of children who die in hot vehicles are not in vehicle seats.
New legislation is currently underway to be reintroduced to the House of Representatives and Senate to require systems that can detect the presence of a child. The U.S. auto industry has voluntarily agreed to add door sequencing technology to indicate if the back door was opened prior to the initial departure of the vehicle. However, if stops are made along the way to your final destination, this type of technology will not work as intended and would do nothing to indicate the presence of a child who got in on their own. The U.S. auto industry has voluntarily agreed to make these mainstream by 2025. The Hot Cars Act of 2019 is a critical bill that would help to prevent children and animals from being needlessly injured or killed when alone in vehicles.
Good Samaritan Laws
There are 23 states with “Good Samaritan Laws” with specific language that protects persons who see a child in a vehicle and take action to render assistance.
Good Samaritan Laws: http://www.kidsandcars.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Good-Samaritan-State-Laws.pdf
Child Hot Vehicle Laws in Other Countries
The Canada Safety Council provides hot vehicle warnings for parents. Several countries provide child hot vehicle death prevention materials for parents.
- A new law in Italy requires drivers to install alarms in vehicle seats. The mechanism is designed to keep parents from forgetting a child in a vehicle and prevent deaths from heatstroke.
- In Japan, children are being left in vehicles while parents play Pachinko. The Pachinko industry launched a campaign to eliminate the hazards of leaving infants in hot vehicles. Efforts include restricting customers accompanied by children entering Pachinko parking lots. In addition, pachinko staff patrol their parking lots at regular intervals to make sure there are no children left in vehicles.
- Australia has varying laws by state regarding leaving children unattended in a vehicle. Child hot vehicle deaths happen 400 times a year in Western Australia, according to RAC (Royal Automobile Club) and Wunderman Thompson. As a result, the agency devised an aluminum decal that goes on over parking-spot stripes to remind parents to look for their keys before they shut the vehicle door with their keys inside as automatic locks are common when a vehicle is unattended for a certain period of . This could also allow the parent/caregiver to remember a child is in the back seat and not automatically lock the child in the vehicle alone.


Get the Facts!
- Increasing awareness of hot vehicle deaths and high numbers of these fatalities have led to new laws in many states in the U.S. and all over the world.
- As a result of increased awareness in this regard, S. and European safety regulators are considering mandating child presence detection systems to avoid the deaths of unattended children in hot vehicles.
- Twenty-one states in the U.S. have Unattended Child in Vehicle Laws that have specific language addressing leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. A total of 31 states have laws about leaving animals unattended in vehicles.
- Despite having these laws several of these laws have significant exceptions and qualifiers in their language
- New Jersey is currently the only state that has a law requiring a parent or guardian to notify childcare centers if a child will be absent and also requires childcare centers to notify a parent or guardian in the event of an unexcused child absence
- In 2017, the United States Congress introduced the Hot Cars Act, requiring all new passenger vehicles to include child safety alert systems, which would include auditory and visual alerts when a driver turns the vehicle off. The bill has yet to pass into law.
- There are 23 states with “Good Samaritan Laws” with specific language that protects persons who see a child in a vehicle and take action to render assistance.
- Several countries provide prevention materials for parents.
- International Child Hot Vehicle Deaths from the KidsAndCars.org Database.