The MNPD’s Youth Services Division reminds us all of the heartbreaking and preventable deaths that can occur when children are left alone in hot cars.
The inside of a vehicle heats up VERY quickly! Even if windows are cracked open, the temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees in minutes. Knowing and sharing the following information can save a life:
- 80% of the increase in temperature happens in the first ten minutes;
- Cracking the windows does not help slow the heating process OR decrease the maximum temperature;
- Children have died from heatstroke in cars with temperatures as low as 60 degrees;
- A child’s body overheats three to five times faster than an adult body.
- Even the best of parents/caregivers can unintentionally leave a sleeping baby in a car—look before you lock;
- Keep your car locked when it is parked to prevent a curious child from entering when no one is around;
- Teach children that vehicles are not safe places to play.
Tragically, there were 52 hot car deaths in the United States last year and 53 in 2018. If you see an endangered child alone in a vehicle, get involved and call 911 immediately. For a fact sheet about children and heatstroke, visit this link: Look before you lock
