Western Australians are being urged to keep their keys on them, with new data revealing RAC rescues, on average, at least one child accidentally locked in a car every day.
RAC Roadside Patrol Ray Farrugia said between 2014 to 2018, RAC had rescued over 2,200 kids locked in cars, an average of 440 per year.
The alarming statistics have been released as part of RAC’s Keep Your Keys on You campaign which aims to create awareness of the issue, reduce the number of accidental lock-ins, and prevent potentially life altering consequences.
“Many people are unaware of how easy and common it is to accidentally lock a child or pet in the car, or of the associated health risks in doing so,” Mr Farrugia said.
“On a typical Australian summer day, the temperature inside a parked car can be 20 to 30 degrees hotter than the outside temperature.
“Even in cooler weather, car temperatures can vary significantly to the outside temperature, meaning the inside of a car can still become too warm.
“Modern technology is also making it harder to quickly rescue children from new and luxury vehicles, with access to some cars proving extremely difficult.
“We receive call outs to accidental lock-ins all year round so we urge parents and guardians to never leave their child unattended in a car.
“Never give your child the car keys to play with and make sure you don’t close your doors and boot until you’ve sighted your keys.
“Time is critical when a child is trapped and RAC call outs for lock ins are prioritised and given to the closest Patrol.
“However, it’s important to remember RAC Patrols don’t have emergency sirens or flashing lights – we can still get caught in traffic and need to obey the road rules – so if a child is distressed or in harm’s way emergency services should be contacted immediately.”
Top 10 suburbs for RAC call outs to children locked in cars (2014 – 2018):
- Joondalup 43
- Baldivis 35
- Morley 31
- Rockingham 30
- Mandurah 29
- Midland 28
- Clarkson 27
- Ellenbrook 25
- Canning Vale, Hillarys 24
- Innaloo 22
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Media contact: Mikayla Wearne, 0401 703 719 or media@rac.com.au
