Kids in hot cars warning

RECENT hot temperatures have prompted a warning from local emergency authorities of the risks of leaving children unattended in the car, even for a few minutes.
RACV patrols were called out 1352 times to rescue people locked in cars in the last year, more than three times a day on average.
RACV chief engineer, vehicles Michael Case said people locked in cars during summer were at great risk of suffering or even dying due to heat stroke or dehydration.
“The interior temperature of a car can rise by as much as 40 degrees in just 15 minutes,” Mr Case said.
“Even dashing into the shops is dangerous.
“Leaving a window open a few centimetres won’t help reduce a car’s interior heat by much and temperatures can reach a lethal 60 degrees very quickly.”
Kidsafe, the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia Victoria manager Anne Murphy urged parents to always take kids out of the car with them, even if it was only for a small errand.
Ms Murphy said cars could reach as much as 30 to 40 degrees hotter than the outside temperature, with 75 per cent of the increase occurring within the first five minutes.
She said while there had been few reported incidents over the past couple of weeks, parents returning to work while the kids were still on holidays tended to be a bit more stressed and get a bit lazy.
“Don’t use the car as a babysitter,” Ms Murphy said.