Road Warrior: 'Stop. Look. Lock.': NMDOT releases guidance to prevent hot car deaths

Happy Monday.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation is reminding people to follow the “Stop. Look. Lock.” protocol to prevent hot car deaths.

According to NMDOT:

• Temperatures inside a car can rise to 50 degrees above the outside air creating lethal conditions even on cool days.
• Cracking the windows or parking in the shade does little to protect a child.
• Children’s bodies warm three to five times faster than adult bodies.
• A vehicle can reach a dangerous temperature in as little as 10 minutes.

“As a father to nine, I know just how hard it can be to keep track of your little ones 24/7,” Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a news release. “But there is no excuse for leaving a child in a parked vehicle. Every parent, sibling, relative and babysitter needs to understand the severity of doing so — it’s the only way we can prevent more of these heartbreaking losses of life.”

To keep children safe, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, people should:

• Lock the car to prevent children from getting inside and minimizing the risk of them getting trapped.
• Never leave a child alone in a car.
• Make sure the child has been dropped off at daycare or with a caregiver and not left behind in the car.
• Keep an item in the back with the child to serve as a reminder.
• If someone sees a child left in a hot car, call 911.

For more information, visit www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/heatstroke.

SANTO DOMINGO BRIDGE PROJECT: Starting Monday, New Mexico Highway 22 will be closed at Indian Service Road 88 in Santo Domingo Pueblo so work to remove a concrete box and build a new bridge can begin.

The $9.5 million project is expected to be completed at the end of September 2026, weather permitting, NMDOT District 5 spokesperson Jim Murray said in a news release.

Work will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“Motorists should expect delays and are urged to plan travel accordingly,” he said. “Drivers are reminded to exercise caution in the work zone, follow all posted signs and detours, reduce speed and stay alert for construction personnel and equipment.”

For updates, Murray said, people can visit www.nmroads.com or dial 511.

‘AM I MISSING SOMETHING?’: Reader Roger Assink said he is concerned about the pedestrian crosswalk by Guadalupe and Montaño NW.

“There’s signage indicating a pedestrian crossing but in our hundreds of times crossing, exactly two cars have stopped for us,” he said. “... The couple of times that a car stopped, the cars behind them were confused, braked suddenly and wildly changed lanes because, “Why would someone stop for a pedestrian crossing?”

While the speed limit is 35 mph, cars typically go 40-50 mph “and occasionally faster,” Assink said.

“It appears that the signage is ignored well over 99% of the time and does more harm than good,” he said. “Am I missing something?”

LONG LIGHT ON UNSER: Reader Racquel Leland said the light at Unser Boulevard and Bandelier Drive is “super long.”

“Each morning during rush hour (and some afternoons) traffic going north backs up down the hill while east(bound) and westbound cars on Bandelier are few and far in between,” Leland said. “It’s bad enough at Paradise, but worse at Bandelier.”

ARROW AND LIGHTS: Reader Karen Schindwolf wanted to know why there is a red light arrow going south on Unser to turn onto Dellyne and why there isn’t a flashing yellow light to turn onto Dellyne from northbound Coors.

“There were issues with cars pushing the red light and getting into crashes,” Department of Municipal Development spokesperson Dan Mayfield said. “To prevent those crashes, we added a red arrow to hopefully prevent cars from running that light. A flashing yellow would not have solved the problem.”