With Early Heat, Hot Car Safety Virginia Parents Need To Know

Summer-like heat and humidity have settled into Virginia, and at least one case of a parent leaving children alone in a hot car has already occurred. Two small children were left alone inside a hot vehicle April 20 in the parking lot of the Junction Plaza shopping center in Ashburn while their mother was in a store. Police entered the vehicle to rescue the crying children, who were evaluated by rescue personnel and found to be OK.

A total of 39 children died when left in hot cars last year nationwide, and five heatstroke deaths have already happened in 2017 in the United States, according to noheatstroke.org. The stories are predictable right every year: A parent or caregiver puts baby in back seat, parent drives somewhere intending to drop off baby, parent forgets baby in back seat. Then the baby dies from hyperthermia, known more commonly as heatstroke.

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• Take down the car's make, model and license plate number, says the Humane Society of the United States.
• If there are businesses nearby, notify their managers or security guards and ask them to make an announcement to find the car's owner. Many people are unaware of the danger of leaving pets in hot cars and will quickly return to their vehicle once they are alerted to the situation.
• If the owner can't be found, call the non-emergency number of the local police or animal control and wait by the car for them to arrive. In several states, good Samaritans can legally remove animals from cars under certain circumstances, so be sure to know the laws in your area.

On a warm day, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise rapidly to dangerous levels, says the Humane Society. On an 85-degree day, 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. Your pet may suffer irreversible organ damage or die.

Medical experts attribute hot car deaths to parents not realizing just how quickly it can get hot inside a vehicle left unattended.

“On a day that is just 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature [inside a car] can increase by 30 to 40 degrees in an hour," Dr. Christopher Haines, director of pediatric emergency medicine at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, told WebMD. "And 70% of this increase occurs the first 30 minutes."

Heat stroke typically occurs when body temperature passes 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to medical experts. Such internal heat overwhelms the brain's temperature control, causing symptoms such as dizziness, disorientation, agitation, confusion, sluggishness, seizure, loss of consciousness and/or death.

Patch has compiled these hot car safety tips for parents from KidsandCars.org and Parents.com.

Tips For Busy Parents

• Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.
• Put your purse, briefcase, cell phone or lunch in the backseat so you are sure to look before you lock the door.
• Make it a habit to always open the back door of your vehicle every time you park to make sure no child has been left behind.
• Keep a large stuffed animal in the child’s car seat when it’s empty; move the toy to the front seat when a child is riding in the car seat as a visual reminder that a child is on board.
• Place your child’s car seat in the middle of the backseat rather than behind the driver. It’s easier to see the child.
• Arrange with your day-care center or babysitter that you will always call if your child will not be there as scheduled.
• Lock your vehicles at all times -- even in the garage or driveway – so youngsters can’t climb in without your knowledge.
• Keep keys and remote openers out of the reach of children.
• Check vehicles and car trunks first when a child is missing.
• Take action if you see a child alone in a vehicle. Call 911 immediately.
• Discuss the issue of hot-car safety with everyone who drives your child, including partners, grandparents, and babysitters.
• Use drive-through services when available at restaurants, banks, pharmacies, dry cleaners, etc. to remain in the vehicle with your child.
• Use your debit or credit card to pay for gas at the pump.

Parenting magazine also offers some tips to avoid hot car tragedies:

• Parents/guardians should seat the younger (or quieter) child behind the front passenger seat, in the parent's line of vision rather than behind the driver.
• "Never assume someone else — a spouse, an older child — has taken a young kid out of her seat," the magazine says. "Such miscommunication has led to more than a few hot-car deaths.
• Some parents and guardians might want to invest in a device designed to help them remember their tiny passengers. For example, a monitor plays a lullaby when the car stops and a child is in the seat. Or the ChildMinder System sounds an alarm if you walk away and leave your child in the seat ($69.95; babyalert.info).
• Put visual cues in your office and home. Static-cling decals reminding you to check the car seat are available at Emmasinspirations.com and Kidsandcars.org.

Kidsandcars.org marked National Child Vehicular Heatstroke Awareness and Prevention Day on April 26.

Safety steps the group suggests include:

• Every time you park your vehicle open the back door to make sure no one has been left behind. "Look Before You Lock."
• Ask your childcare provider or babysitter to call you within 10 minutes if your child hasn't arrived on time.
• Focus on driving and avoid cellphone calls and any other distractions while driving.

»Image via Shutterstock