A new statewide campaign is being launched to remind parents that leaving kids unattended in hot cars is not only illegal, but it can also be deadly.
It might seem like a no-brainer to never leave children unattended in a parked car, and doing so on a hot day is even worse, but there have already been several incidents in Connecticut so far this summer.
The Connecticut Department Of Transportation has allocated $100,000 from its budget to pay for the “Look Before You Lock” campaign. The campaign will include bumper stickers, billboards, and radio spots.
“This campaign I think will work because you’re playing to a really powerful instinct, you’re playing to a paternal and maternal instinct that just needs information,” Senator Christopher Murphy (D) said.
That information will include warnings saying that even with windows cracked temperatures in a car parked in the sun can quickly rise to 130 degrees or higher.
“That would be like opening an oven a tiny little bit, it’s going to let a little bit out, but that temperature is still rising very dramatically,” Dr. Marc Auerbach, a pediatric emergency physician at Yale-New Haven Hospital, said.
