Car locks place kids at risk

Thousands of babies and young children are accidentally locked in cars around Australia each year and the potential for injury or death is heightened in the summer months.

In NSW, there are between 140 and 180 calls a month for babies and young children accidentally locked in cars. In Victoria, there are between 110 and 135 calls a month for babies and young children accidentally locked in cars.RACQ vehicle technologies executive manager Steve Spalding says modern cars make it more difficult for owners and even their trained experts to break into cars quickly in emergency situations.

"Modern cars that feature advanced security systems can make it difficult to get into them once the keys are locked inside," he says. "This is partly in response to consumers demanding improved security systems and the convenience of remote locking - deadlocking is particularly problematic."

He says the alternative in an emergency of breaking a window can be dangerous.

"Attempting to break the windows can lead to injury and should be avoided if possible. It is better to gain entry by other methods," he says.

The Australian Automobile Association estimates the various state clubs receive hundreds of thousands of calls annually for lock-outs, tens of thousands of calls for babies or children locked in cars and a few thousand calls for animals or pets locked in vehicles.

Spalding says the situation of a baby, child or pet locked in a car can be life-threatening in the summer months. The RACQ conducted tests to measure the interior temperatures of parked cars, showing temperatures rose quickly to a point that exceeded safe levels for occupants. The tests found temperatures can rise from air-conditioned levels to ambient in less than two minutes and to 40 degrees in seven minutes.

In one test, the ambient temperature was 32.5 degrees, but inside the car it peaked at 75.1 degrees.

Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit spokesperson Dr Ruth Barker says the temperature can rise quickly in a locked car even if the windows are slightly down and the car is a light colour. "Babies and young children can quickly develop heat stress, heat stroke and irreversible damage if you leave them in long enough," she said.

Kid Safe director Susan Teerds says that even on a cloudy day the temperature can skyrocket.

"Having the windows down a bit doesn't make a huge difference and the smaller the child the faster they will succumb to heat stroke," she says. "First they get distressed, then they start to cry and try to get out and then they'll faint."

Teerds says that while waiting for emergency help to arrive, parents can take steps to lower the car's temperature.

"It's not silly to get the hose and spray the car or hold an umbrella up to shade the car," she says. "It's a last resort to break the window. It's actually really difficult as a brick won't do it. You have to use something sharp and know what you are doing. It would also be terrifying for the child to have someone bashing on the window."

RACQ tests show that regardless of whether a vehicle is light or dark, has tinted windows or a sunshade, or has the windows slightly down, cabin temperatures vary by only a few degrees. Even when parked in the shade, cabin temperatures can exceed 40 degrees.

Caroline Wright is thankful that when she accidentally locked her grandson, Jack Hardman, 3, in her car in a hospital carpark recently it was 5.30pm and the temperature was not high.

"I felt terrible when it happened," she says. "I saw a lady and sang out and she came over and was really kind and had a phone and rang my daughter and Sonia rang the (auto club). They were there within seven minutes. It was just great service. The seven minutes felt long, but Jack was calm and I kept playing with him through the window. It seemed like it took about 20 minutes to get in, but I don't really know how long. Luckily it was 5.30 and it wasn't hot. I would have panicked if it had been in the middle of the day in summer. I would have smashed the window and wouldn't have let him sit there."

Spalding says automobile clubs send a service vehicle in an emergency, even if the caller is not a member.