It's Never Safe to Leave Children Alone in the Car

    LOS ANGELES--July 31, 2001--Today's sentencing of a San Jose woman to three months in jail for leaving her children in a locked car trunk while she worked is the most extreme example of what some parents do from time-to-time by leaving their children unattended in the car, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
    "Children under four years of age seem to be the most at-risk for having their lives endangered by being left in a hot car for any length of time," said Steven Bloch, Ph.D., senior research associate for the Automobile Club of Southern California.
    "Incidents appear to be equally distributed in three groups: children intentionally left in a car by an adult, children forgotten because of adult confusion or impairment and children locking themselves in a car while at play."
    Currently, there is no national data that follows the number of children who die every year from being left in a vehicle.
    Doctors warn that if outside temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit, it could be 110 F inside a car. Within minutes the temperature can climb to 150 F or more. In a short time, a child can become dehydrated with the body's internal temperature climbing above 107 F. Even five minutes locked in an overheated car may be too much for a small child.
    The Auto Club urges motorists:

--	Never leave a child unattended in a car, even for a minute.
--	If you see a child locked in a car, immediately call 911 for emergency assistance.
--	Get the child to a hospital emergency room as soon as possible.
--	Never try to treat the heatstroke at home with cold water or cooling the child in a tub of water. Only a specialist should treat heatstroke.