Why you should never leave pets or children in a parked car

By July 18, 2014Blog
man speaking in front of car video still-frame

The news today is littered with stories of children and animals being left in hot cars. This often results in serious injury or death. So why do so many people continue to do this? Most don’t realize just how quickly your car can heat up once it is stationary and off. And not just in the summertime! Cars in direct sunlight get hot, fast – especially when there is no airflow. Just because the window is cracked, doesn’t mean there is a breeze. If it is 80 degrees outside, after an hour, your car can be as hot as 123 degrees on the inside. You should never leave pets or children in a parked car.

 Children also heat up more quickly than adults – five times faster as a matter of fact. So five minutes in the car for you – from a temperature standpoint – is closer to twenty-five for a child. There were 44 children last year that died from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle. So far this year, there have been 15 deaths. If you’re still not convinced about how hot it gets in your vehicle, watch this video: 

In a nutshell, a veterinarian locks himself in a vehicle for 30 minutes, with the windows cracked, and a thermometer. The way that the car heats up becomes unbearable almost immediately for the man. Within 10 minutes, the temperature is 106 degrees. At 20 minutes, it’s 110 degrees in the car. At 25 minutes, it’s 113 degrees. He even says “The only thought that’s going through my head right now is I want out of the car – everything in my body is saying, get out, get out, get out.” He makes it the full 30 minutes, with the car topping out at 115 degrees.

 After a 22 month old died in Georgia after being left in a car, firefighters in Tuscaloosa baked cookies inside a parked car to raise awareness as to just how hot your car can actually get. It took 35 minutes to turn the raw cookie dough into finished, fully cooked oatmeal cookies. Make sure you always check the back seat for your children, and take your pets inside with you, or leave them at home. If you feel that you’re especially forgetful, there are a number of tricks to make sure you don’t leave anyone in the car. Things like; leave the diaper bag in the back seat, take off a shoe and leave it in the back seat, put your wallet, purse, or cellphone in the back seat. Anything that you cannot leave your car without, you can use as a tool to remind you to check the back. Please be careful, it’s hot out there.