B.C. Day is a time for celebration.
Lots of folks find the best way to celebrate is to get away and enjoy some vacation time.
After all, it’s summer, and what better time is there to enjoy some of the great sights and activities that nature provides us throughout the province.
The first rule of enjoying any vacation spot is to make sure you get there safely.
Drive carefully, and plan your holiday trip so you’re not rushing to get away at the last minute. Speed kills on the highways, especially when it is combined with distractions caused by stress or cellphones.
Make sure your vehicle is in good condition: brakes are in good order, tires properly inflated, no mechanical defects to leave your family trip to unfortunate chance.
It’s hot out there. Take that into account when you’re setting up for your road trip. Make sure you’re family is equipped with plenty of fluids, pack up the sunscreen to block those intense UV rays, and treat your vehicle with respect – it can become your enemy in the hot sun.
The danger of hot, closed cars has been mentioned a lot this year – but that’s because, time and again, some people have failed to get the message.
The temperature in a parked car, even in the shade with the windows partly open, can rapidly reach a level that will seriously harm or even kill your pet or child. When temperatures reach 27ºC outside, the inside of your car can reach 36ºC, at which it can cause serious sickness in pets and children in less than 30 minutes.
And it doesn’t stop there. Temperatures can easily go higher still, shortening the time it takes to create a dangerous living environment. Heat stroke can occur when body temperature exceeds 40ºC.
Get out this weekend and enjoy it to the fullest. But if you see a pet in distress, or any child at all locked in a car, don’t hesitate-call 9-1-1. You may save a life.
– B.G.