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Secure children correctly on every ride.
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Children are safer in a rear seat and secured with a proper restraint for the child’s size.
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Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even with the window slightly open. This applies to pets as well. On a typical sunny day, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach potentially dangerous levels within minutes, even in the winter.
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Watch children closely around vehicles, particularly when loading and unloading. Check to ensure that all children leave the vehicle when you reach your destination. Don’t overlook sleeping infants.
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If you are taking your child to the sitter, especially if it’s not part of your normal routine, leave your lunch bag or your briefcase on the floor in the rear seat, near the child’s car seat, or place the diaper bag in the front seat near you, as a reminder that the child is with you.
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Never leave children in a vehicle, with the keys in the ignition switch. A child could operate power windows, other controls, or move the vehicle. Unsupervised children can become entrapped by the power windows or suffer severe injury if the vehicle is put into motion.
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You should never exit a vehicle while the engine is running. Unintended movement of a vehicle could injure those in and near the vehicle.
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Always lock vehicle doors and trunks – even at home – and keep keys out of children’s reach.
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Teach children never to play in, on or around vehicles. Always check around the vehicle before starting it and watch carefully for children while operating it.
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Do not allow children to have access to the trunk, either by climbing in from the outside, or through the inside of the vehicle. Once in the trunk, young children may be unable to escape even if they entered through the rear seat. If trapped in the trunk, children can die from suffocation or heat stroke.
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When restraining children in a vehicle that has been parked in the heat, check to make sure seating surfaces and equipment (car seat and seat belt buckles) aren’t overly hot. |
