'Recipe for disaster': Parents warned not to leave children alone in cars as weather heats up
By Merryn Porter |
With the temperature heating up across Australia in an unusually warm start to spring, parents and caregivers are being reminded not to leave children unattended in hot cars, even for a few moments.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) formally declared in September that Australia could expect hotter than normal weather patterns this year as a result of two separate weather events จC El Ni?o and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole.
Dr Karl Braganza, the head of climate monitoring at the BoM declared, "This summer will be hotter than average and certainly hotter than the last three years."
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The hotter than usual temperatures mean parents need to take care not to leave children alone in a hot car for even a few minutes จC a practice that has worryingly been on the rise in recent years and led to the tragic death of a young Sydney boy earlier this year.
A three-year-old boy was discovered by his father unresponsive in the back of his car on February 1 when he returned to the vehicle after picking his older son up from school.
The distraught dad later told media outlets he had forgotten to drop the sleeping toddler at childcare that morning and worked for six hours before making the return trip to pick his son up from school.
It was only when he opened the back door to let his older son in the car that he found his son and frantically tried to save his life, but it was too late.
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The tragic incident came after the NRMA issued a warning last December, when its records showed a rise in the number of call outs relating to children or pets locked in cars.
The NRMA said its roadside assistance teams responded to 4265 calls in the past year จC the highest number in a decade. The majority of cases occurred unintentionally after motorists accidentally locked their keys in the car.
NRMA road safety expert Dimitra Vlahomitros said at the time the temperature inside a car could quickly rise to almost double the temperature outside, and it didn't take long for serious injury or death to occur.
"Everyone has gotten in their car after a warm day and felt the scorching heat in the car, or the burn of their seatbelt. It's a recipe for disaster if a child or pet is accidentally locked in this situation," Vlahomitros said, adding it didn't even have to be a very hot day for conditions inside a car to quickly become dangerous.
"A child locked in a car is not only distressing for the baby, but also for the parent or carer. While it is a highly stressful situation, it is important to try to remain calm to help prevent distress for your child," she said.
"Some cars are able to be locked while the keys are still inside them, so it is important to make sure you know where your keys are before closing the boot or doors."
Vlahomitros said the two locations the NRMA was called to most to rescue children trapped inside cars were shopping centres and households.
"Whether you're packing the car full of groceries or packing the car for a holiday, make sure you know where your keys are and don't leave your keys with children to play with while loading up the car," she said.
Tiny Hearts Education says leaving children in hot cars is one of the Top 10 summer risks for children.
"When locked in a hot car, the biggest risk is life-threatening heatstroke, which happens when the body is not able to cool down quickly enough," the child safety and first-aid experts said.
"Even on cool or cloudy days or when parked in the shade, cars can heat up quickly, regardless of their size, colour or if the air conditioning was on previously. Even opening a window slightly doesn't prevent a car from heating up."
The organisation said a car's interiors could quickly become 20 to 40 degrees hotter than the outside temperature, and most of the increase in temperature occurred in the first five minutes.
It said the death of a child after being locked in a car, no matter how confronting, needed to be talked about to raise awareness and prevent it happening again.?
"One of the most devastating parts about it is that it can happen to even the most loving, attentive parents, who are sleep deprived, distracted or have experienced a change in routine," they said.
The phenomenon, known as "forgotten baby syndrome", has been studied by experts for almost 20 years. Globally, new car makers have agreed to include an alert system in all new cars by 2025.
Until then, Tiny Hearts promotes the CARSS acronym to ensure children do not become trapped in cars.
- Coach: teach your little one that we don't play in or around cars.
- Alert: try and minimise distractions when driving as this is often when parents forget they have a little one in the car with them.
- Routine: create a routine of always checking the backseat before exiting the car and following up with whoever dropped bub off if their routine was different on this day. It's also a good idea to create a system with bub's daycare that they'll call you if bub hasn't arrived by a certain time each day.
- Stow: Leave your bag on or under the backseat to force you to look back, and keep your keys up high and out of sight when not in use.
- Send for help: If you see a little one stuck in a hot car, send for help immediately by calling Triple-0.
The NRMA says it prioritises its roadside assistance for both members and non-members when a child is locked in a car and aims to arrive within 10 minutes. However, if a child is distressed it recommends phoning Triple-0 as emergency services could arrive sooner.
It is an offence to leave a child unattended in a car. In NSW, fines of up to $22,000 apply.