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How to prevent accidentally locking a child in a car

On a typical Australian summer's day, the temperature inside a parked car can be more than 30°C hotter than outside the car. That means that on a 30°C day, the temperature inside a car can reach over 60°C!

A child left in a parked car under those conditions for even a few minutes can very quickly become distressed, dehydrated and can die from organ failure. If you see anything, you need to act quickly. If you wait, it can be too late.

Do not leave your children in the car for any period of time without adult supervision. 

Four tips to avoid accidentally locking kids in cars

NRMA Roadside Patrol Kosta Karavanas is all too aware of the risk of parents accidentally locking kids in cars with keyless entry features.

“With some car models, as soon as the key is inside the car and the door is shut, the car automatically locks, leaving shocked parents outside and children or pets inside,” Mr Karavanas said.

“Even if you don’t think your car will self-lock with the key inside, don’t put yourself in the situation to find out, especially when kids are involved. We can’t always rely on technology to work."

  1. Open the windows before you put the shopping, kids, or pets in the car.
  2. Before buckling the kids into seats, pop the keys in your pocket.
  3. If no pockets, put it on the roof as the car won’t start without the keys inside.
  4. Even if you don’t think your car will self-lock with the key inside, don’t risk it.

Criminal offence

Parents are also reminded that leaving an unattended child locked in a car under any circumstances is illegal with fines of up to $22,000 under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.

The temperature and humidity inside the car begin to increase while the airflow decreases. As the temperature increases inside the car, the child can begin to develop heat stress and start to dehydrate. Young children are more sensitive to heat than older children and adults. This can put them at greater risk of heat stroke and other health risks.

  • 75% of the temperature increase occurs within five minutes of closing the car.
  • Darker-coloured cars can reach slightly higher temperatures than lighter-coloured cars.
  • Large cars can heat up just as fast as small cars.
  • The colour of interior trim has little effect on the speed that the temperature can increase inside a car.
  • Having the windows down 5cm causes only a slight decrease in temperature with an outside temperature of around 30°C.

You must make a judgment call as to whether it is a life and death situation and you would need to either

  • break a window yourself and call an ambulance,
  • or call 000 and ask for police, who will get there as urgently as they can (and will break the window themselves) and they will call an ambulance.

If the child is clearly distressed, do not wait for help. Instead, break a window and remove the child from the vehicle until help arrives. Always break the window furthest from the occupant.

If you break a window, and the child is simply asleep and it turns out not to be an emergency, it is possible that you could be required to pay for the window.

In less urgent circumstances, call the NRMA. You do not need to be a Member in this situation. Because of the grave danger involved, the NRMA drops everything to respond immediately to calls where a child is locked in a car.

  1. Do not use the car as a substitute 'baby-sitter'. If you have to leave the car, even to run a quick errand, take the children with you.
  2. Do not leave your children in the car for any period of time without adult supervision.
  3. Provide plenty of cool water or fluids regularly during your journey.
  4. Dress children to promote airflow around their bodies, ie, lightweight fabric and light colours.
  5. When planning long journeys, especially with small children, consider travelling in the cooler hours of the day.
  6. Plan to stop every two hours so all passengers, including babies, have an opportunity to move freely.
  7. In summer when children are wearing lightweight clothing, restraints and harnesses could need to be tightened.
  8. For rearward-facing restraints, it is not recommended that you use a hood to protect the baby from the sun. A hood can reduce airflow around a baby's head that can lead to the baby over-heating. A visor or sunshade is a safer alternative.