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AAA Offers Tips For The Summer Season

July 6th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

As the National Weather Service is forecasting temperatures to surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit in Maryland today through Saturday, AAA Mid-Atlantic is reminding motorists to never leave children or pets unattended in cars – there could be deadly consequences.

“It’s important to remember that temperatures inside a car on a summer day can soar to nearly 200 degrees, which is hot enough to cook many foods and kill most living things,” said Ragina Cooper Averella, Public and Government Affairs Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic.  “Never leave children or pets in a parked car.  If you do see a child or pet locked in a car and cannot find the owner of the vehicle, call 911 immediately.”

Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle deaths for children under the age of 14, representing 61 percent of non-crash related fatalities in this age group, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

From 1998 through 2015, there have been at least 677 heatstroke deaths nationwide of children left in cars, with 14 of those deaths in Maryland, according to San Jose State University’s Department of Meteorology & Climate Science. The same research states that on average, 37 children die each year, or one approximately every 10 days, as a result of being left unattended in hot vehicles.  In 2016 to-date, there have been 16 child vehicular heatstroke deaths nationwide.

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