In response to a 10 per cent increase of children being left in hot cars, Kidsafe Victoria is releasing a special electronic safety kit for use by the media, Members of Parliament, local councils and community groups.
The kit Includes use of the infographic below and a fact sheet, which can both be downloaded directly from the Kidsafe website.
Fact sheet: http://www.kidsafevic.com.au/images/stories/pdfs/hotcars.pdf
Infographic: http://www.kidsafevic.com.au/road-safety/hot-cars
Between 1st September 2013 and 31st August 2014, Ambulance Victoria paramedics rescued 1,165 children who had been left unattended in a car.
Figures from Ambulance Victoria reveal that:
- Two thirds of call outs for children locked in cars were to car parks, streets or public places.
- The summer months (December 2013 – March 2014) were the busiest period with an average of four call outs to a child left unattended in a car per day.
- 42% of incidents occurred between 11am and 3pm
(Ambulance Victoria, November 2014)
Kidsafe Victoria Comments
With a range of temperatures forecast across the State, Kidsafe Victoria are warning patents not to be lulled into a false sense of security on mild days.
Leaving children unattended in a car, even for a short period of time, can be fatal. On a typical Australian summer day, the temperature inside a parked car can be 20 to 30 degrees hotter than the outside temperature.
It is vital to recognise children’s smaller body size and underdeveloped nervous system placed them at greater risk of losing fluid quickly, becoming dehydrated and suffering from heatstroke.
Kidsafe Victoria at the Children in Hot Cars launch at Middle Park today with the Minister for Children, the Hon. Wendy Lovell (third from right) and Jason Chambers, Project Manager, Kidsafe Victoria (right).
