Updated · Safety on the road
Stay out of traffic's path
Wherever you wait, keep yourself out of the line between moving traffic and your car. A car stopped on a shoulder can be hit and shoved forward, so the spaces behind it, in front of it and beside it on the traffic side are the worst places to stand. In a parking lot or driveway, that risk mostly goes away, and the car or a shady spot nearby is fine.
Beat the heat
A car with no air conditioning heats up fast under a DFW summer sun. If the engine runs and you don't smell exhaust, keep it running with the AC on. If it won't run, open the windows partway, put up the sunshade, and sip water steadily.
In a safe lot, the shade of a building or a tree is cooler than the cabin. Headache, dizziness, nausea or confusion are signs of heat illness; get somewhere cool right away, and call 911 if they get worse.
Kids, older passengers and pets
They feel the heat sooner than healthy adults. Keep them with you and never leave them alone in a parked car, not even for a moment. If you're stopped near a store or restaurant and can walk there without crossing a busy road, it may be the most comfortable place to wait.
If a child or pet ends up locked inside the car, call 911 before anything else.
If a stranger stops
Plenty of people who stop mean well, but you don't have to open the door. Talk through a cracked window, say help is on the way, and don't accept a ride. If a vehicle with flashing lights stops behind you and you're not sure it's police, keep the doors locked, turn on the dome light, and call 911 to confirm.
Stay easy to reach
Keep the phone on and the ringer up, because the technician may call to find your exact spot. Text a friend where you are. If you move, even just to a store across the lot, call back so nobody ends up searching around an empty car.