AAA warns about the dangers of leaving children & pets in cars

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – As temperatures are rising across Idaho, AAA is reminding parents and pet parents the dangers of leaving children and animals in the car ahead of the summer.

AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde says, "Every seven days a child dies from being left in a hot car."

A good way to remember to check the back seat is to put the necessities back there with your precious cargo, whether a child or a pet.

"We used to talk about the purse or the wallet, but there's something even more important in most people's pockets, and that's the cell phone," Conde says.

AAA reports a child's body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult. A car temperature can rise more than 20 degrees in only 10 minutes, leading to children and pets experiencing heatstroke, and sometimes even death.

So, essentially no 'quick errand' is worth it. Conde says, "That's with the windows cracked. That's in the shade. It really doesn't matter. There is no good time or place to leave a pet or a child in a hot car."

AAA encourages parents to teach their children what to do if they ever happen to be stuck in a hot car.

Conde says parents should consider asking their children, "Could you unbuckle yourself? Could you honk the horn? Could you unlock a door? But those things are not the the real plan. The real plan is the prevention. On our end, we're the adult. we're the ones that take the responsibility. That's the absolute last failsafe. But we need to do our part first and foremost."

The National Safety Council reports last year, at least 33 children died in hot cars, and two deaths have already been reported this year.