By BRIDGET SCOTT
RECENT statistics released by Ambulance Victoria has shown that Cranbourne has ranked one of the highest in the state for leaving children in locked cars on hot days.
In the period from 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2014, Ambulance Victoria received 23 calls regarding people locked in vehicles, 92 per cent of these are believed to have been for children aged 13 or under.
An average of one call in this time was made for surrounding areas including Cranbourne East, Cranbourne North, Cranbourne West and Botanic Ridge. Ambulance paramedics were disappointed with the 10 per cent increase in children left in cars this year compared to last. From December 2013 to March 2014, an average of four calls a day were made to triple-zero reporting someone locked in a car. That number peaked at 13 in one day during the January heatwave.
Group manager Brett Drummond said leaving children in a car could prove deadly.
“People don’t seem to understand the deadly risks involved in leaving a child in a hot car,” Mr Drummond said.
“Tragically, there have been cases of children dying in hot cars in Victoria in recent years.”
He said the dangers associated with leaving children in hot cars are much higher than that if an adult was left in a hot car.
“Being left in a hot car can quickly become life threatening for babies and young children as they can’t regulate their body temperature like adults can,“ he said.
“They may suffer from heat distress in the beginning followed by heat stroke. They dehydrate quite quickly.“
“The consequences can be unconsciousness and even coma, and unfortunately some children may die. It can be minutes.“
“How quickly the effects begin to appear can depend on how old the child is and how hot the day is but we’re seeing evidence that cars can get very hot very quickly to quite dangerous levels.“
He added that it doesn’t have to be high temperatures for children to be affected.
“It doesn’t have to be a scorching hot day for the car to quickly heat up. 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,” he said.
“You wouldn’t get out of the car after shopping and leave your ice cream in the back seat, so why would you leave your children there?”
Mr Drummond said calls to children locked in cars were a mix of deliberate or careless acts, and accidents where the keys were locked in the car with the child.
Acting Senior Sergeant at Cranbourne Jen McKenna said there were penalties associated with leaving your children in the car. However, she added that the priority should be the child’s health.
“It is a brief offence – offenders may be charged and have to appear in court,” she said.
“It means that anyone who is deliberately leaving kids in cars, particularly on hot days, police will prosecute.”
“The offending driver or offending person in charge of the car at time will be interviewed and summons issued to appear at court.”
