What are the dangers of accidentally locking your child or pet in the car?
Director of the Telethon Kids Institute and paediatrician, Professor Jonathan Carapetis, said as outside temperatures increase, guardians need to be extra aware of where they are putting their car keys.
“Forty degrees is not safe for young children or pets because infants and dogs are not able to regulate their body heat the way adults can.
“It can have very serious consequences for their health. They’ll certainly dehydrate, they’ll certainly get sick and it can be lethal,” Professor Carapetis said.
The temperature inside the car can rise rapidly in an incredibly short period of time. Tests in Queensland by RACQ have shown the internal temperature of a vehicle can rise from air conditioned to ambient temperatures in as little as two minutes, and on a 32 degree day the cabin temperature can get to 40 degrees in as little as seven minutes.
