More than 5,000 children rescued after being left in cars across Australia
More than 5,000 children are rescued after being left unattended in a car each year across Australia, Kidsafe Victoria reported.
The charity has issued a red alert in time for summer as it launched its annual campaign Do Not Leave Children Unattended in Cars.
“The temperature inside a parked car can be 20-30 degrees warmer than the outside temperature,” Kidsafe Victoria general manager Jason Chambers said on Friday.
“This means that on a typical Australian summer day, the temperature can reach over 50 to 60 degrees in a matter of minutes.”
Chambers warned that dehydration and heat stroke can be life threatening to children.
Tests conducted by the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland found that when car windows are left open by 10 centimetres, the inside temperature is only five degrees cooler than when the windows are closed.
“There’s never a safe amount of time to leave a child or pet locked in a car,” RACQ spokeswoman Clare Hunter said.
“Even with the windows down, a car can reach high temperatures in minutes, which can prove dangerous.”
Leaving a child unattended “for an unreasonable time without making reasonable provision for the supervision and care of the child” is an offence in Queensland and Victoria.
Any person who leaves a child in a vehicle without proper supervision to the point where it causes emotional distress or health impairment will be liable to 200 penalty units in NSW, and a fine of $36,000 and imprisonment for 3 years in Western Australia.
Over 1,000 calls for children left unattended in cars every year are answered by emergency services and roadside assistance in Victoria, Kidsafe said.
Earlier this month, a five-year-old girl found in a car parked in the driveway of a Hunter family home died in hospital. The week prior, 27-year-old Kerri-Ann Conley was charged with two counts of murder after her two toddlers were left in the car for about six hours.