A study conducted RACQ, Queensland's peak motoring body revealed that a vehicle's cabin temperature can rise from 19 degrees Celsius to 30C in the first minute of parking, The Daily Telegraph has learned. In another seven minutes, the temperature might reach the dangerous level of 40C, which can be fatal for the children left in parked cars.
"What these tests show is that there is no safe way of leaving a child locked in a car,'' said RACQ vehicle technologies manager Steve Spalding.
"Children exposed to extreme heat in these situations are unable to cool themselves effectively. Medical experts advise that if core body temperatures are sustained over 41.5 degrees, permanent injury or death can result,'' he added.
In December last year, RACQ had to answer 116 calls to free trapped children. As a matter of fact, in Queensland, leaving a child under 12 unsupervised in a vehicle is considered a crime and offenders risk up to three years in prison.
More importantly, the RACQ research also proved that leaving windows open in a parked car to make the interior cool enough for children doesn't help either. And as if all these weren't already scary enough, Spalding goes on saying that it makes little difference if the vehicle is equipped with sunshade or tinted windows or if it was of light or dark color.
Now that you know it, you should think twice before locking your child in the parked car while you're solving some important business. It's better to take him/her with you to avoid a possible tragedy even if leaving a kid in stationary car is not considered a crime in your country.
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