Know This: How Fast A Car Can Become Deadly In The Surging Heat

Hot cars are super dangerous, but some people tend to forget just how bad it can really be. 

Utah is well into summer now with heat fluctuating in the high 90s and triple digits. That means leaving your car unattended for more than a few minutes can have some serious consequences. Your car can be a hot box of death.  

Never leave your pets and never leave your kids inside a hot car. The temperature rapidly rises causing heatstroke pretty quickly. That quick errand can have some detrimental impacts on your fur baby or human one.  

Hot Car Deaths in Utah 

It may seem like an obvious fact to not leave precious beings in a hot car, but a study from the National Safety Council shows that people aren’t listening. In 2024, there were 39 heatstroke deaths of kids in hot cars across the U.S. There have been seven deaths reported in 2025.  

Read More Here: What Experts Recommend Utahns Keeps Their AC At

Utah has had a total of 13 deaths related to leaving a child in a hot car since 1998.  

It should be noted that Utah has had one death on average in 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The most deaths were in 1998 with six kids suffering from heatstroke.  

The National Weather Service said that a car’s temperature can raise 20 degrees in 10 minutes and 50 degrees in an hour. Every minute counts.  

Children also warm at a rate 3 to 5 times faster than an adult, making them much more susceptible to heatstroke.