How to Prevent Hot Car Deaths
Extreme heat is as deadly as extreme cold. There are many ways to keep the body warm in cold conditions but so difficult to find ways or means to cool the body under very hot conditions. Hyperthermia is the abnormal high temperature condition of the body because of excessive heat. This can happen to a person inside a completely closed car left exposed under the sun for hours and could be fatal.
To prevent hot car deaths there are simple things that could be done. Here are some simple steps to take note of:
1. When buying car, or when it is to be repainted, always choose a light color tone. It does not absorb too much heat and has some properties to reflect sunlight. The same goes for the color of the interior. Leather or vinyl upholstered seats that are often dark in color can be remedied with light colored seat covers.
2. For the windshield and other glass, if the car doesn’t come with tint on them, have it tinted medium or darker depending upon what is comfortable for your driving. This will help prevent the insides of the car from getting heated too much. If you don’t like tints, there are windshield covers as give away promos by companies. The material is actually insulation used for construction and under the engine hood of cars. It is relatively cheap and price depends on the thickness. You can also use a large piece of this to cover your car roof. Have it fastened to the car’s door when you close them so as not to be blown away by wind. The plasticized insulation sheet of foam serves as ventilation between the aluminum foil and the car roof that absorbs the heat thus the cooling effect.
3. Crack all door windows slightly open by about one inch or less to allow air flow.
4. Park in an area where there would be sufficient shade. Parking beside tall trees and buildings would be a good way to serve as a shade to prevent hot car deaths.
5. A car has a ventilation system that gives an option to re-circulate or allow air from outside to flow in as air exchange. Set the lever to the setting that shows air from outside flows inside.
6. Put drinking water under seats of the car where it can easily be accessed even by kids. These can be used, other than for drinking, to cool their face or drench their clothes with water under extreme heat conditions.
7. Make sure to have folding fans in the car or maybe anything sturdy enough to use as fan. Fans help cool the air and body at the same time helping air exchange from the outside.
8. If your car has a cooler or ice-box, make sure it is easily accessible with sufficient cooling liquid. If possible have re-hydration liquids with easy access to them.
9. Wet disposable or hand towels that can be dipped and soaked with water. This is a simple step, convenient to use and cool down body temperature.
10. In safe areas or parking places, simply leave to door windows open or maybe even the doors!
11. For urgent or emergency situations, use anything to block direct sunlight from the car. Use things like umbrellas, coats, tents, clothes, etcetera to be suspended some distance from the car. If there’s no way to tie the things to poles or trees, covering the car roof and windshields with them should help a little.
12. Give clear instructions to the persons or kids that will stay inside the car. Best advice to give them is to unlock the doors and get out of the car in case it gets extremely hot. Never-never leave babies or toddlers who would not know how to follow instructions inside a car.
13. Still, the best simple step to prevent hot car deaths is not to leave any person or any living thing inside a parked car exposed under the sun with all windows closed.
14. In case a person is already unconscious due to hyperthermia, take him or her to a coolest place available and call for help. Initially, cool down the person with water and aggressively fan his or her body.
The simple steps to prevent hot car deaths should be simple and logical enough to follow. The thought or idea that it will take only a minute often takes hours under some circumstances, unmindful and even forgetting that you have left someone in the car.
