AAA Idaho reminding you to ‘look before you lock’
Published at | Updated at
BOISE — Before you leave your vehicle, check and make sure you didn’t leave a child or pet behind.
That’s the message AAA is spreading across the state as part of its “Look Before You Lock” campaign. The campaign was originally started by St. Lukes Health System and the Boise Police Department, but AAA is spreading the message statewide.
The campaign is particularly important now during the COVID-19 pandemic because officials say people’s routines are different.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Idahoans have had to adjust their routine in one way or another. In some cases, that includes transporting children who wouldn’t normally be with them, or who might otherwise be in a daycare or school,” AAA Idaho Public Affairs Director Matthew Conde says. “Our hope is to send a clear message that leaving kids and pets in hot cars for any length of time is extremely dangerous – even to run a quick errand.”
Conde told EastIdahoNews.com that what we think will be a ‘fast trip’ can easily get out of hand. Retail environments are designed to keep you in, he says, and there is no such thing as a quick errand.
“In more than half of the heat fatality cases, the child was accidentally forgotten by the caregiver,” Conde said in a news release. “A child’s body temperature rises at a rate that is three to five times faster than an adult’s (temperature) rises. What an adult may interpret as a reasonable temperature could put children and pets at risk.”
To help drivers remember to be aware, the campaign encourages the sharing of this tag to hang from rearview mirrors.