Damn, Your Car is Hot!

Damn, Your Car is Hot!

By: Shelby Fix, Car Coach 2.0

With the summer here, your car will become an oven from the blistering heat. Just think about sitting or touching those scalding hot leather seats and steering wheel after your car has been sitting in the sun all day long. Many people might not realize that your car can be pretty dangerous during the summer months.

In just an hour, on a 90-degree day, the interior of your car can reach up to 180 degrees. I have actually baked cookies in my car to see how ridiculously hot the interior gets when the car sits out in the sun. The cookies were fully cooked, as if I put them in an oven for 30 minutes.

Most drivers don’t think about how much the sun and heat impact their vehicles. Some just crack their window a bit, or open their sunroof to try and get the heat out of the car while it’s parked. People with children and/or pets need to be aware that the high temperatures will of course affect them as well. Many children and animals have died from being left in a car, for even 10 minutes, on a very hot day. Look at the statistics – its staggering.

On average, 38 children die in hot cars each year from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside motor vehicles. Even the best of parents or caregivers can unknowingly leave a sleeping baby in a car; and the end result can be injury or even death; www.kidsandcars.org has some scary stats.

Temperatures can take as little as two minutes to rise from the air-conditioned level it was at when you turned your car off. Regardless of whether your vehicle color is light or dark, or if you have tinted windows, the temperature will still rise to a level that can cause death. Leaving your windows or sunroof open a crack, or even parking in the shade does not reduce the temperature in your car, whatsoever.

The first thing to help prevent your car from getting really hot is to invest in a windshield screen. Windshield screens only take less than a minute to put up when leaving your car in the summer heat. It can reduce the interior temperature by 50 degrees and they cost, on average, $10 to $20.

Also, remember not to leave a child, adult, or animal in your car for any amount of time during the summer temperatures. Always take the child with you, even if you only think you’re leaving your car for a short period of time.

Lastly, this is not to scare you, it is to inform you on the dangers of summer heat in your vehicle.