By YASEMIN TALAT
CHILDREN left unattended in cars is still a major problem across Wyndham.
New Ambulance Victoria statistics reveal paramedics were called to 31 cases of people locked in cars across the municipality in the five months between September 2013 and January 2014.
Wyndham racked up the highest number of cases in the western suburbs, with nine of the reported cases coming from Tarneit.
Hoppers Crossing and Werribee each had seven reported cases during the five month period.
Ambulance Victoria paramedics were disappointed many parents were still ignoring the dangers of leaving children unattended in cars.
“Tragically there have been cases of children dying in hot cars in Victoria in recent years and it’s not worth risking leaving your children in a car,” said Ambulance Victoria Group Manager Brett Drummond.
Paramedics were called to 620 cases of people locked in cars across Victoria in the five months, with almost two-thirds of the triple zero calls reporting a child aged under 13.
The data reveals that January was the busiest month for calls to report someone locked in a car, with an average of six calls made per day.
And although summer is over Mr Drummond warned people not to be complacent.
“It doesn’t have to be a scorching hot day for the car to quickly heat up,” Mr Drummond said.
“Tests by Ambulance Victoria found that even on a 29-degree day the inside of a car can reach 44 degrees within 10 minutes and hit 60 degrees within 20 minutes.”
Children below the age of 13 represented 65.7 per cent of the 620 incidents reported with the majority being newborns and toddlers.
And the most common place for these incidents to occur was in a car park, public road or public place and a large percentage at home.
“Some people think they can just duck into the shop and leave their child but there’s a risk they will be delayed and it’s a risk that’s not worth taking,” Mr Drummond said.
