Leaving your car in an Escondido parking lot during the summer months for even a few minutes without the vehicle running typically leads to a very hot car. While hot cars are not a problem when they are unoccupied, hot cars can cause the deaths of children who are left in vehicles even for a few minutes. According to a recent report from CNN News, hot car deaths have reached a record high” as of July. 29 kids across the country have suffered fatal injuries as a result of heatstroke after being left in a hot car. California, along with Texas and Florida, had the highest number of heatstroke-related child deaths this summer.

You might think that you would never forget a child in a vehicle, but the article suggests that even the most diligent parents need to take precautions to prevent hot car deaths, particularly during the summer months.

July Hot Car Deaths Reach Unfortunate Record

As the article explains, the last week of July saw 11 deaths related to hot-car heatstroke, which is a particularly high number. Prior to this summer, the record for hot car deaths peaked at 28 in 2010, a year in which there were a total of 49 deaths connected to hot cars. ccording to Jan Null, who is a meteorologist with the Department of Meteorology & Climate Science at San Jose State University, the number of deaths reported thus far is a conservative estimate. Indeed, “there are several more [deaths] each year that go under the radar,” Null emphasized.

Many people do not realize how quickly a car can become extremely hot. Null explains that, once you have the air conditioner running in your vehicle and then come to a stop in a parking lot, the temperature begins rising as soon as you turn off the engine. Within only 10 minutes’ time, the temperature, on average, rises about 19 degrees. In other words, if you turn off your car when it has a temperature of 80 degrees, it will reach almost 100 degrees—an unsafe temperature—within just 10 minutes.

How Hot is Too Hot inside a Motor Vehicle in Escondido?

According to the report, “medical professionals generally use 104-degree body temperature to measure heatstroke, and death can occur when the body temperatures reach the 107-degree range.” While most people can survive within a 100-degree car, the chances of injury increase relatively rapidly. Null suggests that, “even on an 80-degree day—which is a mild summer day for most of the country—you’re at 109 in 20 minutes” within the vehicle.

And kids are much more susceptible to heatstroke injury and death than adults. The Mayo Clinic indicates that “the central nervous system is not fully developed in children, and this makes their bodies less able to cope with temperature changes.” Moreover, the core body temperature of a child rises much more quickly—sometimes five times as rapidly—as an adult’s core body temperature. When the core body temperature rises, an individual can be at serious risk of heat illness, heatstroke, and death.

What is the best way to prevent hot car deaths? The article suggests that an alert system inside the vehicle may be the best way to avoid these accidents. But if your car does not have an option for such an alert system, an article in Today recommends the following safety tips:

• Always look in the backseat before you lock the car;
• Put something you need (like your wallet or purse) in the backseat;
• Always lock your car doors to prevent children from getting inside;
• Keep your keys and fobs out of the reach of children;
• Have a hot car safety plan if you use childcare; and
• If you see a child in a hot car, say something.

If you have questions about child injuries or filing a car accident claim, an Escondido personal injury lawyer can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about how we can assist you.

See Related Blog Posts: Seatbelts Could Save Children’s Lives in Carlsbad Distracted Driving Awareness Month in Vista

(image courtesy of Dan Gold)

Generally speaking, the rate of deadly motorcycle accidents has been declining in the United States over the last decade. However, the rate of fatal motorcycle accidents actually has been rising in California, according to a recent article in Health Canal. While the cumulative rate of motorcycle accidents declined by about 7% in 2013, the rate of motorcycle deaths actually rose by 13% in California. Concerned about the spike in crashes and deaths, Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) looked at motorcycle accident rates between 2003-2012 and determined that fatal crashes increased by 23% across the state.

Why do the numbers make it seem as though motorcycling is more dangerous in California? Are motorcyclists at greater risk of suffering a serious or fatal injury in an accident in our state?

Highest Increases in Motorcycle Accident Fatalities in Southern California

According to the article, the counties with the highest rates of motorcycle accident fatalities were located in Southern California. The largest increase in deadly motorcycle accident rates occurred in Los Angeles County, which saw a 49% rise from 2003 to 2012. The counties that were next in line with extraordinarily high increases in deadly crashes were Orange County and San Diego County. Both counties saw upsurges in serious and fatal motorcycle accident injuries.

While these counties had the most salient increases, the article emphasizes that very few counties reflected the overall decrease in fatalities across the country. In other words, most counties in California saw an uptick in motorcycle injuries between 2003 and 2012.

Helmets Not Apparently a Significant Factor

If we look at the statistics across the country, states that have helmet laws tend to have lower rates of motorcycle accident fatalities. Indeed, as the Health Canal article makes clear, statistics show that helmets reduce the rate of death in motorcycle crashes by about 37%, and they reduce brain injuries by nearly 70%. However, as the article in Health Canal underscores, California has had a universal helmet law in effect since 1992. As such, the rising rate of motorcycle accident fatalities does not seem to be connected to helmet laws.

If helmet laws are not a significant factor, to what should we attribute the increase in motorcycle accident deaths? While experts cannot say with certainty why more crashes and deaths are occurring in California than elsewhere in the country, the report from Southern California Public Radio suggests that the rise in accident injury and fatality rates likely have a causal factor: “inexperienced or rusty riders on the road, enticed by two things: years of rising gas prices and a better economy.”

Impact of Economy and Better Weather in Southern California

According to Chris Cochran, a spokesperson for the California Office of Traffic Safety, “the recession is becoming over, and people are getting out there and doing more of what they were doing earlier.” Cochran suggested that the recession may have prevented recreational motorcyclists from riding due to the costs of maintenance and gas, and now that the economy is bouncing back, more recreational riders can afford to get back on the road.

In addition to the end of the recession, it is also possible that the warm weather in Southern California has been playing a role in the rate of motorcycle accidents. The SCPR report emphasizes that many recreational motorcyclists travel to Southern California to ride. A California Highway Patrol officer told SCPR that California has become “a destination that a lot of riders like to come to,” from other states in the U.S. as well as from other countries.

Contact a San Diego Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

If you or someone you love got hurt in a motorcycle crash, an experienced motorcycle accident attorney in San Diego can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about our services.

See Related Blog Posts: Motorcycle Safety Enforcement in California Avoiding Common Motorcycle Accident Scenarios (image courtesy of Jack from Mohrsville Pa., USA)

Whether you are swimming in a pool at your San Diego home or are visiting a neighbor’s house, do you need to be worried about your child’s safety as well as your own? According to a recent article in U.S. News & World Report, swimming pools can become death traps more frequently than most of us would like to believe, especially for young children. As that article explains, around 18 millions homes in the U.S. currently have swimming pools, but drowning is actually the leading cause of accidental death among children 1 to 4 years old. As the article emphasizes, a majority of those unintentional deaths occur in home swimming pools.

While kids under the age of four are at a higher risk of drowning than children in other age groups, it is important to remember that drowning can result in the death of anyone, at any age. For kids under the age of 15, drowning is the second-leading cause of accidental death. As such, it is important to take precautions to prevent your pool from becoming a death trap, as the article warns.

Supervision and Swimming Lessons for Your Kids

The first and most important aspect of pool safety is making sure that your children are supervised at all times when they are in the pool. You should not take your eyes off the pool—even for a minute or two—to read a magazine or to check your email on your smartphone. It takes a short time for a child to drown, and parents need to be aware that supervision is key to preventing drowning accidents in home pools.

Almost as important as adult supervision, you should ensure that your kids know how to swim. Sign your children up for swimming lessons early on and be sure that they know what to do when a water situation becomes dangerous. While your kids are taking swimming lessons, you should consider learning CPR. In the event that a child does have a near-drowning incident in or around your pool, you can have the tools to save a life.

Safeguard the Pool Area

Supervision and swimming skills are key to preventing drowning deaths. At the same time, however, it is essential for parents with home pools to take steps to keep the pool area safe for kids. The article recommends the following tips:

• Completely fence in your pool, ideally using fence of at least six feet in height and three feet away from the pool so that it can be safely scaled without falling in. Not just any fencing will do, either. You should use fencing that does not have any “horizontal footholds of grips that allow kids to climb it.” Additionally, the fence should not have vertical slats that are more than four inches apart, or else a child may be able to slip through those slats.
• Install a gate to your pool area that has “self-closing spring hinges and a self-locking latch that is well out of reach” of children, typically at least five feet from the ground.
• Remove any furniture or other items that kids could use to scale your pool fence, including but not limited to: low-hanging tree branches, chairs, tables, and ladders.

If your child got hurt in a pool accident, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. An experienced San Diego drowning accident attorney can discuss your options with you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: Learning More About Dry Drowning and Secondary Drowning Link Between Drowning Accidents and California Drought

(image courtesy of Matias Romero)