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Tragedy strikes every summer. Children and pets die from heatstroke after being left unattended in cars and trucks. It should never happen, but it does when unknowing vehicle owners think leaving a window slightly open or parking in the shade alleviates potential problems.
But it’s not sufficient. Within minutes after children or animals are left in a vehicle, temperatures can drastically rise and wreak havoc. Young children and pets can’t help themselves.
In Episode #43 of The Weekly Driver Podcast, co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia speak with Dan Carron, a senior analyst for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, reports:
“Every year, dogs suffer and die when their guardians make the mistake of leaving them in a parked car—even for “just a minute”—while they run an errand. Parked cars are deathtraps for dogs: On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 100 degrees in just minutes, and on a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 109 degrees in less than 10 minutes.”
Carron provides statistics and sad examples of the animal cruelty when owners believed their pets would be okay when left in vehicles “because it was only going to be for a few minutes.”
Carron also notes that PETA provides free pamphlets and posters for the public stressing the dangers of leaving animals in vehicles.
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Hosted by James Raia and Bruce Aldrich, The Weekly Driver Podcast dives deep into the highways and byways of the automotive world. Each week, we put you in the driver’s seat, exploring unique, unusual, and often untold stories from across the industry’s spectrum.
Article Last Updated: October 9, 2023.
- About the Author
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
Hello Mr. Raia
As a member of a hydrogen fuel innovation team (hydrogen fuel generation) developing the prototype of a recently awarded patent I found your recent article on Ms. White enticing. The paper had scarcely given you enough column inches to adequately portray the huge importance of this emerging technology. Although her harrowing experience in HOV lane was thrilling I for one would have greatly enjoyed learning more of her reflections on hydrogen fuel cars. Even her predictions for the future would mean a lot. At the very least it would be interesting to hear about her fueling stops at the hydrogen fuel stations and what her costs were per mile driven. Perhaps you will at some time in the future develop a series on Hydrogen Fuel technology. My company’s specific target will be hydrogen fuel for home use in an electrical generator. It is a very simple concept with far reaching applications globally and far less expensive to implement than solar or having to purchase a car. Your article is the first I have encountered on the subject in the Sunday newspaper. Rumor has it that Mr. Musk plans to introduce a hydrogen fuel car in the future. Keep up the good work. Thank you very much, Norman Hodgson