Governor Scott signed a bill into law earlier this year that makes saving a person or pet from a hot, locked car easier. According to the bill text, it provides immunity from civil liability for damage to a motor vehicle related to the rescue of a person or domestic animal under certain circumstances.

“Domestic animal” is used to describe a dog, cat or other animal that is domesticated and may be kept as a household pet. This term does not include livestock or other farm animals.

Each year, dozens of children and untold numbers of pets left in parked vehicles die from hyperthermia.

Hyperthermia is an acute condition that occurs when the body absorbs more heat than it can handle. Hyperthermia can occur even on a mild day. Studies have shown that the temperature inside a parked vehicle can rapidly rise to a dangerous level for children, pets and even adults. Leaving the windows slightly open does not significantly decrease the heating rate.

The effects can be more severe on children because their bodies have not developed the ability to efficiently regulate internal temperature.

Did you know?

The sun's shortwave radiation heats objects that it strikes. For example, a dark dashboard or seat can easily reach temperatures in the range of 180 to over 200°F. These objects (e.g., dashboard, steering wheel, child seat) heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and also give off longwave radiation which is very efficient at warming the air trapped inside a vehicle. In just over two minutes a car can go from a safe temperature to an unsafe temperature in the middle 90s. This shows just how quickly a vehicle can become a death trap for a child.

Deaths can occur any time of the year. Here are a few examples:

  • Honolulu, HI, March: A 3-year-old girl died when the father left her in a child seat for 1.5 hours while he visited friends in a Waikiki apartment building. The outside temperature was only 81 degrees.
  • North Augusta, SC, April: A mother left her a 15-month-old son in a car. He was in a car for 9 hours while his mom went to work. She is now serving a 20-year prison sentence.
  • Greenville, TX, December: A 6-month-old boy died after being left in a car for more than 2 hours by his mother. She was charged with murder. The temperature rose to an unseasonably warm 81 degrees on that day.
  • Adults are also susceptible to hyperthermia in vehicles. On July 12, 2001, a man died of heat stroke after falling asleep in his car with the windows rolled up in the parking lot of a supermarket in Hinds County, MS.


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