This past weekend, it was our first foray into 90+ temperatures and already someone has accidentally left their child in a car. According to North Richland Hills police, the temperature was only 84 degrees, but that was high enough to kill a 1 year old. Don’t make the mistake of leaving your child in a car, not even for a few minutes. Here in Texas, during the summer, it gets up to 110 degrees and when you’re inside a car, the temperature jumps up 20 degrees within a few minutes.
Here are a few statements from SaferAutomobiles.com
If the ambient temperature outside is 90 degrees, the temperature of a car can reach 109 degrees in just 10 minutes. Contrary to popular belief, slightly cracking the windows has little effect on the internal temperature of your car.
Also:
More than 550 kids have perished in hot cars in the United States since 1998. This number is astonishing, when considering that most of these deaths were completely preventable.
That’s a number that makes me sick to my stomach. Over 500 kids have died because they were left in a car on a hot day. If you are too distracted to remember that you have a child in the back seat of a car, then you probably shouldn’t be driving in the first place. As we learned last week, distracted driving also kills.
If you see a child left alone in a car, no matter for how long, call 9-1-1 immediately. I’m still waiting for our auto industry to develop alarms that notify you when you’ve left precious cargo in your car. After all, we have backup cameras, bluetooth radios and plenty of other advancements. Be safe out there and never leave anyone (pets, children, others) in your car, regardless of the amount if time you’ll be gone, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes.
