Too hot to handle
I recently posted an article (http://bit.ly/digmFX ) about how to cool down your vehicle during these hot summer days. We’ve all experienced how the heat grows in a parked vehicle, especially when parked in an open space with windows barely cracked open. So, if we know how hot the inside of a vehicle gets, why would you ever leave a family pet or your kids in the car while you go shopping? Well, it happened recently to 3 area kids.
During a heat wave recently, 3 kids were left in the family vehicle while their mom went inside a mall to shop. After around 25 minutes, the kids, ages 10, 6 and 2 went inside to find their mom. Luckily, a local store employee was walking past the vehicle when she saw them and helped them find their mom. The police were then called to investigate. The mom was charged with leaving her kids unattended, as she should be.
As a parent of 4 kids, it’s my true responsibility to act like a parent and like an adult when I have my kids as passengers in my vehicle. We all know how difficult it is to shop for yourself when you bring young kids with you, but leaving them in your car in dangerous to them and illegal. You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking of doing this.
The interior of a car can reach over 115° Celsius in the hot sun. Why would you do this to your kids or the family pet? How would you feel if you were left inside a locked-up vehicle for 25 minutes without air conditioning or a breeze? If you can’t take your kids into the store with you, why bring them along? Plan your trips and decide what’s best for them as well. Be the responsible driver, especially when it comes to your family pets and kids.
What about electric cars? They don’t use the engine to power the air conditioner. Would it be possible to leave the air conditioner on while you slip into a store or smtg for ten mins? Leaving an electric car in “idle” wouldn’t produce exhaust, so that ought to be possible. Right?
The Safe Driver: Thanks for the timely safety tip!
Doug Wedel, While electric cars have got to be the newest, best alternative, I must disagree about the safety of leaving children unattended for ANY length of time in a vehicle at ANY time of the year! Children MUST be supervised at ALL times for their own safety because they are LOVED, & it IS the law to not leave them in the vehicle alone!
STAY SAFE!!
Whether or not the air conditioner can be left on, is beside the point. I realize the article’s main focus was on rising temperatures inside the vehicle but there are so many other things that can happen – why would you risk your children and leave them unattended?