Do you have little kids or pets? That’s an important reason to consider getting window tinting for your cars.

We often preach the benefits of tinted windows at Alta Mere The Automotive Outfitters. It can help keep the sun’s harmful radiation from damaging leather seats in your car, and more importantly, protect your skin and. It can do the same thing in homes while adding an extra layer of privacy in both locations.

Tinted windows can be an extremely important safety feature. They keep cars cool.

It’s quite scary how quickly cars can become hot, when they’re parked, and the motor isn’t running. The website, HeatKills.org, does an effectively chilling job of explaining how dangerous and deadly hot cars can get.

For instance, one person is quoted saying that children have died in cars with the temperature outside as low as 63 degrees. The problem is that inside your car, it’s a greenhouse. At 70 degrees on a summer day, after a half hour, the temperature inside a car can get up to 104 degrees. After an hour, it’ll be 113 degrees.

You may have heard in the news how a young child recently called 911 to report that he and six other children had been left alone in a hot car. The police were able to find those kids, alive and dehydrated, but many of these stories don’t have a happy ending. Last year, 52 children – that the media is aware of – died in hot cars.

Meanwhile, the Humane Society has said that the organization receives hundreds of phone calls a year about pets left alone in hot cars. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that hundreds of dogs die every year in hot cars. Small wonder: not only are dogs baking in an enclosed car, they’re literally wearing a fur coat.

Window tinting can block up to 80 percent of the sun’s heat. Studies have shown that it greatly reduces interior surface temperatures of a car.

Children and pets should never be left in a car alone, particularly on hot days.  In some states, it is against the law. Problems often come when you get into a car that has been parked in the hot sun for a long time.  It takes time for the internal temperature of the car to cool down after being well over triple digits.  For adults, it can be uncomfortable and an inconvenience.  For children and pets, whose bodies don’t cool as quickly as adults, it can lead to overheating and worse.

While not all cases are as dire, there are many situations that window tinting helps in the safety and comfort of your car.  We’ve all had times in which we’ve waited inside a car on a hot day, perhaps as someone runs a quick errand into a store or if you are waiting for your child to finish practice.  The car becomes a sauna and you are quickly drenched with sweat.  Not only can window tinting help reduce the internal temperature of your car, but also cut down on having to constantly run the air conditioning at full blast.

With the long, hot summer ahead of us, now is the time to consider getting your vehicle’s windows tinted.  It’ll make everyone far more comfortable – and safer.