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Press Release

“CHILDREN LEFT UNATTENDED IN CARS CAN OVERHEAT
AND EVEN DIE IN SHORT PERIODS OF TIME,”
DAVIS ADMINISTRATION URGES CAUTION AS LABOR DAY APPROACHES

SACRAMENTO – As thousands of motorists take to California’s highways over the Labor Day holiday, the Davis Administration is urging motorists not to leave children unattended in or around cars. Children can become ill from heat exhaustion, or even die, when left alone in a hot car.

“As California’s Secretary of Transportation, and as a mother, I want to let all parents and caregivers know about the dangers of leaving a child alone for just a few minutes while they run into a store to do an errand or return to their home,” said Maria Contreras-Sweet, Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. “Adults often don't realize how quickly the temperature inside a vehicle can rise. All it takes is a few minutes for the temperature inside a car, even with the windows cracked, to rise to dangerous levels.”

Experts say it can happen in as little as 10 minutes. Even on a mild day at 73 degrees outside, an SUV can heat up to 100 degrees in 10 minutes, to 120 in just 30 minutes. As the outdoor temperature rises, so does the heat buildup in a vehicle. At 90 degrees outside, the interior of a vehicle can heat up to 160 degrees within several minutes.

Cracking the window to let air in does little to protect kids from the effects of heat buildup in a parked car. When the outside temperature is 93 degrees with a window down 1 inch, the temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees in just 20 minutes and approximately 140 degrees in 40 minutes.

Children’s developing respiratory system makes them particularly vulnerable to heat exhaustion. As the heat rises, their body temperatures rise. An infant in a broken down car in 110-degree heat can get in trouble quickly. Infants tend to heat up very quickly, rapidly approaching the temperature of their environment. Sadly, 32 children nationally have died from heat in 2001 as a result of having been left alone in motor vehicles. “Let’s make sure no more kids die needlessly from being left alone in cars,” said Secretary Contreras-Sweet.

California is a national leader when it comes to driver safety, having the highest seat belt use-rate in the country. While much progress has been made in protecting children in recent years, including a new California booster seat law that will take effect in January 2002, a child left alone or unattended around cars is a national problem. KIDS ‘N CARS reports that 43 California children left alone in motor vehicles have died during the past five years.

In an effort to help communities throughout California better protect young passengers, Governor Davis recently awarded 142 traffic safety grants totaling $24.4 million. Many of the grants are for child passenger safety, bicycle and pedestrian safety education programs. The Office of Traffic Safety is integrating heat-danger awareness into its child passenger safety education efforts.

FACT SHEET

• 32 children nationally have died from heat in 2001 as a result of having been left alone in or around motor vehicles
  
• 43 California children left alone in or around motor vehicles have died during the past five years
  
• 20 children who were left alone in cars were hospitalized with heat exhaustion during 2000 in the Sacramento area

Never leave children alone in or around cars because:

• Even on a mild day at 73 degrees outside, an SUV can heat up to 100 degrees in 10 minutes, to 120 in just 30 minutes. As the outdoor temperature rises, so does the buildup of heat within a vehicle. At 90 degrees outside, the vehicle can heat up to 160 degrees within just a few minutes.
  
• Cracking the window to let air in does very little to protect kids from the effects of heat buildup in a parked car. When the outside temperature is 93 degrees with a window down 1 inch, the temperature inside a car may reach 125 degrees in just 20 minutes and approximately 140 degrees in 40 minutes.
  
• An infant in a broken down car in 110-degree heat can get in trouble quickly. Infants tend to heat up very quickly, rapidly approaching the temperature of their environment.
  
• Heat exhaustion can occur at temperatures above 90 degrees and heat stroke can occur when temperatures rise above 105 degrees. If not treated immediately, heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke.
  
• Children can set the vehicle in motion
  
• Your child can be abducted
  
• Drivers have difficulty seeing small children when they back up.
  
• Remember: a car is not a toy. A car is not a playground. A car certainly is not a babysitter.

Safety Tips

• Children should never be left alone in a vehicle, not even to run a quick errand
  
• Keep vehicles locked at all times, even in the garage or driveway
  
• Keys should never be left within reach or sight within children
  
• Teach your children never to play in or around vehicles
  
• Always make sure that all child passengers have left the car after it is parked
  
• f a child gets locked inside, get him/her out as soon as possible and call 911

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