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You
might think you don’t need
to read this article because your children
are grown and you don’t have
any pets, BUT
WAIT! Don’t you
ever have to transport someone else’s
children or pets? Maybe you have grandkids,
nieces or nephews, or perhaps you may
have to help out a neighbor or friend.
Knowledge is power, and just because
you think this information might not
pertain to you…maybe you will
be the one to save someone; a child/pet
in need or a parent/caregiver lacking
the knowledge to take care of their
children and/or pets.
Printable
Article (PDF) | Hot
Car Sign (PDF)
Do you think that the only time a child is in danger
of being left in the car is during those hot summer months
with the temperatures soaring into the 90’s and 100’s?
In reality, many deaths have occurred when the outside
temperature has been only 60-70 degrees. Hard to believe isn’t
it?
Did
you also know that a child’s
core body temperature can heat up
3 to 5 times faster than that of
an adult’s? It only takes a
few short minutes before a child
can become dangerously overheated.
Every year, more than 30 children
die because they are left alone in
a car.
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> How
Hot Is It Inside Your Car?
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A
car‘s temperature
can increase by 19 degrees
in only 10 minutes, and will
continue to rise as time
goes on. According to an
article by Safe Kids USA,
there is no evidence that
cracking the windows helps
keep a car cool. In fact,
the article goes on to say
that, sunshine coming through
the car windows makes the
car work like an oven.
Make
it a point to never leave
a child or pet alone in a car,
even for one minute; and really… is
it ever really one minute? Let’s
say you go into the store for
a few items, but when you get
there
you can’t locate what you
really need so now you have to
make a substitute and you’re
not really sure which one of
the many others you will select
from.
Or maybe there is only one cashier
working and a line of nine people
ahead of you. Maybe the cashier’s
register locked up and now she/he
has to locate a manager on duty
to unlock the register. Sound
familiar? My point? There
is never really a one-minute
stop – anywhere. |
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Safety
Tips:
- Dial
911 immediately
if you see an unattended
child
in a car. EMS professionals
are trained to determine
if a child is in trouble.
- Never
leave a child unattended
in a vehicle, even with
the windows slightly
open.
- Place
a cell phone, purse, briefcase,
gym bag or whatever is
to be carried from the
car on the floor in front
of the child in a backseat,
or place it alongside
the child seat. This
triggers adults to see
children when they open
the rear door and reach
for their belongings.
(This is mainly for those
who don’t normally
transport children and
are not accustomed to
getting anyone else out
of the car when exiting – forgetting
they have a child in
the back.)
- Teach
your children not
to play in any
vehicle.
- Lock
all vehicle doors and trunk after
everyone has exited the
vehicle – especially
at home. Keep keys out of
children’s reach. Cars
are not playgrounds or babysitters.
- Check
vehicles and trunks FIRST
if a child goes
missing.
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Don't
Forget Your Pets!
And of course, it goes without saying; never
leave your animals alone in a parked
vehicle in the warm
months. The inside of a car can reach 120 degrees in
a matter of minutes even if you are parked in the shade.
On a warm day, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise
rapidly to dangerous levels. On an 85-degree day, for
example, the temperature inside a car with the windows
opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes.
After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees.
Dogs and cats can’t perspire and can only dispel
heat by panting and through the pads of their feet.
Pets that are left in hot cars even briefly can suffer
from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, brain damage, and
can even die. If you see an animal in distress in a
parked car, contact the nearest animal shelter or police.
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Furthermore, leaving pets unattended in cars
in extreme weather is illegal in several states. Here
in California, Penal
Code 597.7(a) of the Animal Codes
Handbook – Animal in Unattended Motor Vehicle – reads: “No
person shall leave or
confine an animal in any unattended
motor vehicle under conditions that endanger the health
or well-being of an animal due to heat,
cold, lack of
adequate ventilation, or lack of food or water, or other
circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause
suffering, disability or death to the animal. |
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PETS
- LET’S REVIEW:
5 points we would like
you
to remember:
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1 |
Dogs
and cats are especially vulnerable
to heat-related illness because
they can only cool off by panting
and through the pads in their
feet. |
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2 |
Even
on seemingly mild days,
an enclosed car can be deadly.
In a Stanford University study, when it was 72 degrees outside, a car’s
internal temperature climbed to 116 degrees within
one hour. |
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3 |
A
dog’s normal body temperature
is between 101 to 102.5 degrees;
a dog can only withstand a high
body temperature for a short
time before suffering nerve damage,
heart problems, liver damage,
brain damage or even death. |
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4 |
Studies
show that cracking the windows
has little effect on a car’s
internal temperature. |
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5 |
It’s
illegal. |
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