It seems like every other day there are news stories about children and pets being left in hot cars. The lucky ones are spotted and rescued by concerned strangers who happen to pass by or their parents remember and rush to free them.
Others are not so fortunate and end up trapped and suffering in extremely hot vehicles. With all the media attention and tragic stories you’d think the point would get across, yet every week at least one child ends up dying from heatstroke due to being left alone in a car.
It’s never excusable to leave any animal, pet, child, or dependent person alone in a car, even for just a minute or two, on a warm or hot day. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the temperature inside a car can quickly climb to 110° F or higher when the outside air temperature is in the 60s.
On an 83 degree day the interior temperature can reach 109° in just 15 minutes, even with the windows rolled down a couple of inches. These temperatures are enough to cause heatstroke, where your body temperature rises to 104° or higher, and this can be deadly.
Some individuals are more susceptible to heat stroke and so are pets. For example, dogs can only cool down by panting or sweating through their paw pads, so once their body temps rise it’s hard to get them back down.
If you know you are going someplace where you can’t bring your pet, leave them at home. If you have little kids and drop them off in the morning at daycare or something, set a reminder and always check the backseat when you lock and leave your car. Being aware and vigilant about this can only help save lives.
To put this issue into perspective Kars4kids decided to conduct a social experiment where they invited any passerby to take part in the “Hot Car Challenge.” The volunteers were belted into the back seat of a car parked in the sun with the windows rolled up.
If they could sit in the car for only ten minutes they would pass the challenge and receive $100. Watch to see if anyone made it ten minutes and then take a moment to reflect on what this all means and if you would’ve been able to last that long.
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