Warm Days Ahead, Pledge Now To Look For Kids, Pets In Locked Vehicles

By Chris Spears

DENVER (CBS4) - It's the time of year when all too often we see a locked vehicle with small children or pets inside on a warm to hot day.

According to NoHeatStroke.org, 744 kids have died due to vehicular heatstroke over the past 20 years in the United States.

That's an average of 37 deaths per year since 1998.

Two small children have already died in the United States thus far in 2018.

An astounding fact about heat collecting inside of a locked vehicle is that it doesn't have to be hot outside to be a problem.

A vehicle's interior temperature can reach as high as 110°F with an outside air temperature of only 60°F.

Leaving windows cracked does not create enough air flow to reduce a vehicle's inside temperature to a safe level.

In Colorado, state law says a person is protected if they break a window to save a pet or child locked in a hot vehicle.

However, that person must first try to find the vehicle's owner and call law enforcement before breaking the window.

Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.