Save a Life and Look Before You Lock

One word to describe Texas summers? HOT! Two words to describe what it’s like in a hot car in the summer? EXTREMELY HOT! Definitely not a place to leave a child or an animal. The same is to be said when it’s not hot. Never leave them in the car, hot or cold.

It seems easy enough, just don’t leave them in the car. Plain and simple. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and tragedies continue to happen with results of children dying or being injured from being left in a hot car. According to KidsandCars.org on average, 38 children die each year as a result of being left in a hot car. It can happen to anyone. Children not only have been left in a car, there are also incidents of children getting into a vehicle on their own, resulting in death or injury as well.

Farmers put out an article, “Tips for preventing child deaths in hot cars” that has several great tips to help avoid accidental deaths in hot cars:

-        The most obvious one, never leave children alone in a car, not even to just run into a store to grab something. A car’s temperature can raise over 20 degrees in a 10 minute period. Even when it’s 60 degrees outside, the inside of a car can climb to 110 degrees.

-        If at all possible, use a drive thru to avoid having to leave the car at all.

-        Put an item in the back seat. One that you know you will need to have before your leave the car, forcing you to look in the back seat. Remember the “Put Your Phone Down and Drive” blog from a few months ago? Put your phone in the back so you will have to look in the back seat AND you won’t be texting and driving. Two birds… One stone.

-        Here’s a clever one. When the car seat isn’t occupied put a stuffed animal or toy in the seat. When you do have your child in the car, place the item in the front seat where you will see it, as a reminder that your child is in the back seat.

-        These tragedies don’t always occur with a child being left in the car. Incidents have occurred where a child has gotten into a car on their own. If a child goes missing, make sure you check your vehicle.

-        Hopefully you won’t ever find a child in a vehicle but if you do, call 911 and try and get the child out of the car as quickly as possible.

KidsandCars.org has more great tips to raise awareness and prevention of child deaths in hot cars. They also ask that these safety tips be shared with all those involved with the care taking and transportation of your child.

To put things a little more in perspective, Arizona Cardinals’ Tyrann Mathrieu posted a YouTube video, demonstrating what it would be like to leave a dog in a car. It was 90 degrees outside but after 8 minutes in the car the temperature reached 120 degrees.  He had to get out of the car at that point. It was not mentioned what his body temperature was at the point but for a child, 107 degrees is fatal.

It sounds simple enough, don’t leave you child in the car in any sort of whether. Tragically, it’s not always that simple. Look before you lock because a sleeping child equals no chatter, making one think there’s no one in the back seat. Don’t leave children in the car for a quick in and out store stop. Leave yourself reminders. It takes no time to double check the back seat. It could mean a child’s life.