Cars and heat

It happens every summer in Arizona.  Children are left inside parked cars, while parents run "quick" errands, but temperatures inside can be deadly in a matter of minutes.

Never leave infants, children or pets inside a parked vehicle!

Infants cannot verbalize when they're feeling hot or cold like an adult can.  It's up to you to keep them safe from our extremely high temperatures. 

Temperatures inside a vehicle can reach 50 degrees higher than the outside temperature.  Cracking a window will not provide much relief to anyone left inside the vehicle.

When temperatures reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, even with a window partially open, the temperature inside a car can reach 138 degrees in 5 minutes, and up to 150 degrees in 15 minutes.  In these conditions, children can die very quickly, and the younger the child is, the faster the onset of heatstroke and dehydration.

Did you know:

• 75% of the temperature rise occurs within five-minutes of closing and leaving the car.
• 90% of the temperature rise occurs within 15-minutes.
• Dark colored cars reach slightly higher temperatures than light colored cars.
• The greater the amount of glass in the car (hatchbacks, etc…) the faster the rise in temperature.
• Larger cars heat up just as fast as smaller ones.
• Leaving your windows down even one inch causes only a slight temperature drop.