Texas
Children's Health plan wants you to enjoy a safe summer!
Car Safety
Never leave your kids alone in a car
It's hot outside. Never
leave your child (or pet) in your car, even for a short time with the windows
cracked.
Open car doors and let the car cool off before entering. Hot car seats,
especially metal seat belt buckles, can burn a child’s skin.
It is against Texas law to leave children younger than 7 years old in a car
alone.
Even when the outside temperature is only 70 degrees
fahrenheit, the temperature inside an
enclosed vehicle can reach 120 degrees fahrenheit .
Heatstroke occurs when the body temperature reaches 104
degrees fahrenheit (a body temperature of 107 degrees fahrenheit is considered lethal). A young child’s core body temperature may
increase three to five times faster than that of an adult. This can cause
permanent injury or death.
Never allow young children to play in or around parked cars. Be sure to keep
all doors locked so that a young child does not accidentally lock him or herself
in a parked vehicle.