Summer Time…..Killer Heat
Its summertime, a time to relax and enjoy the heat and sun. But unfortunately, not everyone enjoys the heat and sun. Summertime causes more pain than simple sunburn to some families. It makes tragic headlines that affect families for the rest of their lives. Whether it’s a bad decision or just being absentminded, people are leaving children and pets in a car on a hot day which has deadly consequences.
Even on a mild sunny day, temperatures inside a vehicle can reach well over 100 degrees, deadly temperatures for a child or a pet unable to get out or tend to themselves. Some people leave a window cracked open thinking that it is enough to keep the vehicle cool, but it often ends in tragedy. Headlines often show someone leaving a child in a car on a hot day, absentmindedly forgetting the child, or believing that “it was not that hot outsideâ€. How someone can take a child with them in a car but then “forget†about them when they reach their destination is beyond my imagination.
If you believe that leaving a child or a pet in a car on a sunny day with a window partly open isn’t dangerous, try leaving a thermometer in the car first. You’ll see that the temperature quickly rises much higher than the outside temperature. Leaving children alone in a car is not only dangerous, but it is against the law too. The temperature can rise in a very short time, and can quickly cause severe medical conditions or death to children or pets. Numerous children have died recently due to being left in vehicles with rising temperatures. This is not only a tragedy for the family due to the loss of a child, but then the family has to go through the grief of a family member being charged with the death of the child. If the death involves a pet, the owner can be charged with animal cruelty. Even a dog left in the bed of an open pick-up on a hot day can cause the animals death.
It’s not worth taking the chance. If you take a child with you in a car, take them out with you every time you leave the car. Even if it’s not very hot outside, remember that children get abducted daily from vehicles. Locked doors or rolled up windows will not stop someone that is intent on abducting a child. If you plan on taking a pet with you, make sure there is someone to leave in the car with them so the windows can be left down. If you plan on leaving your pets in a locked vehicle while you shop, think twice about it and maybe leave them at home where they will be safe. Pets get abducted out of cars too.
I’ve seen cars left running with the air conditioner on with a 5-year-old and a
2-month-old baby in a car seat left in a vehicle while mom went into a store. How can a 5-year-old keep a criminal from stealing a running car with both children inside? People just don’t think of the consequences. A bad decision can haunt you for the rest of your life. News stories often have horror stories of a running vehicle being stolen with children in the back seat; often the car thief is unaware of the children in the car until they are blocks away. The thief then abandons the car since they don’t want to be a kidnapper too. If the car is not found shortly, the child can suffocate in a hot car. Or even worse, the thief may be a child molester, well aware of the children in the car. The nightmares go on and on…….
Keep your children and pets safe. Take them out of the car with you or better yet, leave them with someone if you can to prevent needless tragedy. Don’t take chances; it could be the difference between life and death.
NetCops PSI
