20 Things You Should Never Leave in Your Vehicle

We are probably all guilty of leaving our “stuff” in our vehicles. Some of us, maybe, for just an hour or so. Some of us … well … we look at our vehicles as storage centers. But there are, indeed, items that you should never leave in your vehicle. We will start with the two most important – as obvious as they are – because the warning can never be posted too much.

1. Young children – Even if you don’t expect an errand to take more than a few minutes, leaving children alone in your vehicle on a hot day puts their safety at great risk. On average, 38 children die every year in the United States from heatstroke in hot vehicles. Time passes faster than you realize, and on a hot day, vehicle temperatures can quickly climb to well over 115 degrees, putting your child’s life in grave danger.

 




Photo by Emerson Peters on Unsplash

2. Pets – Likewise, even if you don’t expect an errand to take more than a few minutes, leaving your pets alone in your vehicle on a hot day puts their safety at great risk. Time passes faster than you realize, and on a hot day, vehicle temperatures can quickly climb to well over 115 degrees, putting your pets’ lives in grave danger.

 

3. Electronics – Expensive electronics are an invitation to thieves. Plus, the information stored on these electronics could be an additional gold mine, you should never leave in your vehicle.

 

4. Purse or wallet – Obviously, leaving a purse or wallet in a visible location can inspire a break in, but even if you stow your purse or wallet out of sight, you still lose if it is taken. The thieves will get cash, credit cards, your driver’s license and, potentially, other important personal data.

 

5. Cash/change/coins – Even spare change in the cupholder can entice a thief to break in to your vehicle.

 

6. Important documents – including your passport. No documents containing sensitive information should be left in your car, including things like tax forms, financial statements, school transcripts or your passport. Information from these documents could be used to commit fraud or identity theft, which is why . If you are carrying these documents because you are heading to a shredding event, do it first on your list of errands for the day and never leave in your vehicle.

 

7. Water bottles! – On a hot day, the high temperatures in your vehicle can cause chemicals from the plastic bottle to leach into the water. Some of these chemicals have been linked to a range of health problems including diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

 

8. Wine – Extreme heat will alter the flavor of the wine. Furthermore, extreme heat may even cause the air in the bottle to expand, pushing out the cork just enough to contaminate the wine. And no one wants off-flavored, contaminated wine!

 

9. Canned beverages – Extreme hot and cold temperatures can cause cans to explode. * This happened to one of our employees. Coca Cola ALL OVER the interior of the car. You can’t imagine the mess. [shuddering]

 

10. Groceries – According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), refrigerated foods should never be left out for more than two hours, and, if the temperature is above 90 degrees, that time is reduced to one hour. Leaving perishable food in your vehicle beyond these limits can promote the spread of harmful bacteria.

 

11. Medications – The fluctuating temperatures inside your vehicle could reduce the effectiveness of your medications.

 

12. Sunscreen – The high temperatures inside your vehicle can cause the protective chemicals in sunscreen to break down, reducing the effectiveness of the sunscreen.

 

13. Aerosol cans – These pressurized cans can explode in interior vehicle temperatures above 120 degrees, leaving a toxic, terrible mess. And, almost worse, the can could become a projectile, damaging the car, or worse, hitting somebody with a force strong enough to send them to the hospital.

 

14. Lighters – Cigarette lighters can leak or explode in high temperatures, possibly resulting in an explosion that could start a fire.

 

15. Cosmetics – Lipstick, mascara and other makeup products can melt in the heat or freeze in the cold, both of which will render them useless and, worse, waxy messes.

 

16. Eyeglasses and sunglasses – High heat will cause your frames to warp and bend. Intense cold will make the plastic of the frames brittle, making it easier for them to accidentally break.

 

17. Art supplies – High heat will cause art supplies — like crayons and pastels — to soften, melt and destroy the interior of your car.

 

18. Plants – Leaving a plant inside your car for too long can lead to dehydration and, possibly, killing of the plant.

 

19. Musical instruments – Rapid changes in temperature and humidity can cause the delicate wood used in instruments to warp, crack or split.

 

20. Batteries – High and low temperatures can affect batteries. The heat can cause your sealed batteries to leak and the cold can reduce the energy storage capacity of a battery.