Over at Vox, today’s headline reads:
How many kids die in hot cars? Not as many as you think.
It’s accompanied by the chart on the right, which shows exactly how many children die after being locked in hot cars. And it’s….actually higher than I would have guessed.
Why? I think it’s a function of media cynicism. In the same way that the press overhypes child abductions, leading to insane suburban fears and the passage of _____’s Law all over the country, I figure that the press is so eager to highlight grisly stuff like this that it ends up being national news every single time it happens. If that’s true, it would suggest that maybe three or four kids die in overheated cars each year. But no! My cynicism is (slightly) misplaced. In fact, only a small percentage of these deaths make the front page.
Now, granted, this is still less than one death per year in each state, which means it’s not exactly a spiraling epidemic. Still, if you’d asked me, I think I would have guessed the number was around five or ten. I also would have guessed that all the media attention would have led to a decrease in these deaths, but the chart doesn’t suggest that either. Apparently, scaring the hell out of people doesn’t really cause them to be any more careful.
