Tip of the Week – June 20, 2017 – Extreme heat, vacate seats
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California is experiencing excessive, sweltering, record- breaking heat this week. On days like these, no one – no pet, should be left inside a vehicle. On a 95-degree-day, the temperature inside a car shoots up to 114 degrees in just 10 minutes and 124 degrees in 20 minutes, and this week in California, in many places the temperature is closing in on, or surpassing, 110 degrees.
“It should be common knowledge that no one should sit in a sweltering car, but every year we find children and pets left behind on hot days and sadly, the situation becomes fatal,” said CSLEA Foundation Chairman Kenny Ehrman. “Make it a rule – on hot days, everyone gets out of the car. You may think you are going to run into the store for two minutes, but we know that two minutes can extend to five minutes and ten minutes. Unbuckle the kids, leash the pets and take them with you, do not let them stay in a vehicle on a sweltering day, even if the windows are down or the car is running with the air on. That poses it’s on set of safety risks.”
Play it safe!
- Scan the inside of your parked car as you leave it – is there anyone or anything that will suffer in extreme heat.
- Be sure you have your keys with you – don’t accidentally lock yourself out of your car with your child or pet locked in.
- Parking in shade or cracking a window is not a safeguard.
- Check seat buckles before allowing them to touch your child’s skin. They heat up quickly, especially if they’ve been in direct sunlight.
