By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - With the temperatures in the 90s, parents should think twice before leaving their children unattended in a vehicle - even for a few minutes.
Each year a significant number of children are left unattended in vehicles.
Many people underestimate the potential consequences. Risks include hypothermia, abduction, heat stroke, setting a vehicle in motion, trunk entrapment and fatal car crashes.
The Kiwanis Club of Niles and Southwest Michigan has joined forces with a group called Kids in Cars. Terrill and Michele Srtuttmann started the organization in 1999 after their two-year-old son, Harrison, died after being struck by a van set in motion by two toddlers left unattended in a vehicle.
Kids in Cars urges parents to make a number of other choices, so their children aren't left alone in a vehicle.
Some of the tips include, using a credit or debit card when pumping gas, get carry-out service when loading groceries, call for pick-up or drop-off service at many businesses and plan ahead so you can use drive-thoughs at many businesses.
It's dangerous to leave children in a car unattended because they are naturally curious and like to pretend to drive and can set the vehicle in motion.
They also are very vulnerable to high heat. On a hot day a vehicles interior can rapidly heat up to dangerous levels, even with the window open.
The organization also warns about allowing small children near vehicles, as drivers trying to back up could possible back over a child.
Children also like to play hide-n-seek and a trunk can be a deadly hiding place for them, they can also become trapped in power windows and sunroofs.
For more information about Kids in Cars and the work they are doing to pursue preventative legislation in all 50 states to make sure that no child is ever, not even for a minute, left alone in or around a motor vehicle visit www.kidsincars.org.