On
any given summer day you can read a news report or Facebook post about a pet or
child being left in a car “for a minute” and then tragedy strikes.
I
didn’t find an exact number stat on pets dying in hot cars, but articles ranged
from “hundreds” to “thousands” annually.
It’s a lot.
Research
shows more than 36 children die in overheated cars every year in the United
States.
Here are some facts
from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
1. It takes 10 minutes
for the temperature in a car to go up 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cracking a window open
and parking in the shade aren't sufficient safeguards.
3. A child’s body
temperature can rise up to five times faster than an adult’s. A child dies with
a 107 degree body temperature.
4. Even if it’s in the
60s outside, your car can still heat up to well above 110 degrees.
5. It only takes a
57-degree outside temperature to cause heatstroke.
6. On an 80-degree
day, temperatures inside a vehicle can reach deadly peaks in 10 minutes.
My
suggestions would be
·
If
you cannot take your pet into the place you are going, leave it at home.
·
Never…
ever… leave a child in the car.
Perhaps
a teenager, who can recognize and act on the need to get out of a hot car would
be okay, or maybe even a ten year old who can reason and act, but NEVER a child
young enough to be strapped into a car seat. I remember what a pain it was to
wake up a toddler who had fallen asleep in the car just to run into the store
for some diapers. It’s tempting to think
you will be “right out.” Nope. Don’t do it.
You may see a friend and get chatting.
You never know. Don’t tempt
fate. It’s too dangerous.
·
When everyone piles
out of the car, be sure to see that each one is in the house, or yard. Make sure they ALL got out of the car.
Also, remember the
disabled and the elderly. Check on family,
friends, and neighbors on hot summer days. Make sure they are okay. It’s just
the right thing to do because summer heat can be deadly.
