By VANESSA VALENZUELA
UP TO 45 children were locked in cars across Brimbank over 12 months, new figures reveal.
Statistics from Ambulance Victoria show residents reported 45 cases of children, and adults, locked in cars in the municipality between September 2011 and August 2012.
Taylors Lakes and Deer Park recorded the highest number of cases in Brimbank, with a total of 16 calls made to Triple zero in the 12 month period.
The statistics revealed seven cases were reported in Sunshine, six in St Albans, three in Sunshine West and two in Sydenham.
With warmer weather on the way, Ambulance Victoria group manager Brett Drummond said leaving babies and young children in a hot car can prove deadly.
“Tests by Ambulance Victoria found even on a 29-degree day the inside of a car can heat up to 44-degrees within 10 minutes and reach 60-degrees within 20 minutes,” Mr Drummond said.
‘This can be catastrophic and unfortunately in the past there have been cases of children dying in hot cars. Leaving them in the car even for a few minutes is not acceptable.’
Across the state, paramedics were called to more than 900 cases of children under 13 years of age locked in cars in a 12 month period, with almost a quarter of cases occurring at home.
Mr Drummond said some cases of children left in cars were deliberate, while others were a result of keys being locked in the car with a child.
‘Some people think they can just duck into the service station or a shop and leave their child but there’s a risk they will be delayed and it’s a risk that’s not worth taking,” he said.
