As temperatures across Tennessee continue to climb toward the upper 80s and beyond, safety experts are warning motorists not to leave certain everyday items inside parked vehicles, where extreme heat can quickly create dangerous conditions.
Researchers have found that a vehicle parked in direct sunlight on an 80-degree day can reach temperatures of 120 degrees inside within an hour. On hotter afternoons, dashboard surfaces can exceed 165 degrees. With average June highs hovering around 88 to 89 degrees in cities such as Nashville and Memphis, officials say Tennessee vehicles can rapidly become heat traps during routine errands, commutes, and travel.
The warning highlights 10 common items that can be damaged, become hazardous, or pose a safety risk when left inside a hot car.
Aerosol Cans
Products such as hairspray, deodorant, spray sunscreen, dry shampoo, and spray paint are stored under pressure and often carry warnings against exposure to temperatures above 120 degrees. Experts say temperatures inside a parked vehicle can reach that threshold even on a moderately warm day.
Medications
Many prescription and over-the-counter medications are designed to be stored at room temperature. Excessive heat can reduce effectiveness and potentially damage medications such as insulin and emergency allergy treatments. Studies have shown some EpiPens can lose significant potency after prolonged exposure to high temperatures.
Sunscreen
While sunscreen is intended to protect against the sun’s harmful rays, excessive heat can break down active ingredients and reduce its effectiveness. Leaving sunscreen bottles on dashboards or in glove compartments can shorten their useful life.
Food and Groceries
Perishable items such as milk, meat, eggs, seafood, and restaurant leftovers can quickly enter the temperature “danger zone,” increasing the risk of bacterial growth and foodborne illness. Safety guidelines recommend limiting the amount of time perishable food spends in temperatures above 40 degrees.
Eyewear
Prescription glasses and sunglasses left on dashboards or near windshields can suffer warped frames, damaged lens coatings, and other heat-related deterioration.
Lighters and Matches
Disposable lighters contain pressurized fuel and can rupture when exposed to extreme heat. Fire safety officials note that any unnecessary ignition source inside a vehicle should be avoided.
Water Bottles and Clear Cases
Clear plastic bottles and other transparent objects can focus sunlight much like a magnifying glass, potentially creating enough heat to scorch upholstery or other interior materials.
Important Documents
Passports, Social Security cards, receipts, event tickets, and other important paperwork can fade, warp, or become unreadable after exposure to prolonged heat. Thermal-paper receipts are particularly vulnerable.
Children and Pets
Safety advocates continue to stress that children and pets should never be left unattended in a vehicle, even for a short period. Temperatures inside a car can rise rapidly, creating life-threatening conditions in minutes.
Lithium-Ion Devices
Phones, laptops, power banks, e-cigarettes, vapes, and other battery-powered electronics can be especially vulnerable to extreme heat.
Shane Margereson from Ecigone, who works with lithium battery-powered vape devices, said:
“The battery in your vape is the same type as the one in your laptop, your power bank and your e-bike, and they all react to heat in the same way. Watch out for swelling, a sweet chemical smell, discoloration or the device feeling warm when you have not used it.
“If you spot any of those signs, stop using it, keep it somewhere non-flammable and take it to a battery recycling point. Never put a damaged lithium battery in the regular trash, because that is how landfill and garbage-truck fires start. The simplest rule is to treat it like your phone. Never leave it on the dashboard, in the glovebox or in direct sunlight.”
Safety experts recommend removing temperature-sensitive items from vehicles whenever possible and remembering that even when outdoor temperatures feel comfortable, the interior of a parked car can become dangerously hot in a short amount of time.
With summer heat settling into Tennessee, motorists are encouraged to take a few extra moments before locking their vehicles to ensure children, pets, medications, electronics, and other heat-sensitive items are not left behind.
