By YASEMIN TALAT
WITH summer in full swing and the sunburn from last week’s heat wave still fresh, motorists are being reminded not to leave children and pets unattended in cars.
RACV road user behaviour manager Melinda Congiu said RACV patrols had already rescued 48 children and pets from locked cars since 1 January.
“Last year, 1489 children were removed from locked vehicles by RACV patrols; while a further 453 animals also rescued,” Ms Congiu said.
“Locking anyone in a car, especially a vulnerable child, is extremely dangerous and unacceptable.”
Ms Congiu said the dangers of leaving children locked in a car were life-threatening and warned parents to avoid it, even with a window open.
“In days of high temperature, the interior of a stationary vehicle, even when parked in the shade, can become a death trap with temperatures skyrocketing to a lethal 60 degrees within minutes, regardless of whether windows are left open or not,” she said.
“It can only take a few minutes for a child locked in a car with that temperature to become seriously ill or die due to heatstroke or dehydration,” Ms Congiu said.
“Young children are more sensitive to heat than older children or adults as their body temperature can rise three to five times faster.”
“There is never a safe time to leave children in the car.”
The RACV has produced a short video that demonstrates how quickly temperatures can rise in parked cars. It can be viewed at facebook.com/RACV. For more road safety tips visit racv.com.au/roadsafety
