New safety tech to keep kids safe in cars

A little known car maker has launched its latest affordable machine that comes with life saving safety technology that’ll keep your kids safe and save lives.

New safety tech in cars is designed to keep kids safe. Picture: David Swift.

Life-saving technology capable of saving kids locked in hot cars has reached Australian roads in time for summer.

Australia’s cheapest electric car, the BYD Dolphin hatchback, has a “child presence detector” that turns on the airconditioning and sounds an alarm if a kid is accidentally left unattended in a locked vehicle.

Child detection technology is becoming more common in modern cars, but the Dolphin is the first to automatically activate the airconditioning.

The new BYD Dolphin has new safety technology that warns parents if they leave their children unattend in the car.

Experts say the cars of tomorrow will be able to go a step further and call police or an ambulance to facilitate a rescue.

The Dolphin sounds an alarm and flashes its lights if it detects movement or breathing in the car after the driver has locked it and walked away.

Denis Brozinic, an NRMA Roadside Assistance veteran, said the feature was “a game changer really, in a situation that could be life or death”.

“It’s fantastic if you can get a vehicle to start itself up and turn the airconditioning on, that’s unreal,” he said.

“We get calls unfortunately a little bit too often for this sort of stuff.”

The BYD Dolphin is also Australia’s cheapest electric car.

The NRMA has responded to more than 800 calls to help kids stuck in cars in NSW in the last 12 months. Glenn Toms, chief executive of Queensland’s RACQ, said patrols respond to lock-ins with the highest priority, as it can be a very stressful and life-threatening situation. “Concerningly, we rescued 1385 children and 715 animals that were locked in vehicles throughout the year,” he said.

Mother of three Hannah Mansur says the BYD’s safety tech would put it on her shopping list. Picture: David Swift.

“As we head into summer, we urge motorists to never leave children or animals alone in the vehicle, even if it’s just for a moment.

“The temperature inside a vehicle can quickly reach dangerous levels, even if the weather outside doesn’t feel particularly hot.”

Marty Nichols, NSW Ambulance associate director of clinical practice, said babies and small children cannot regulate their body temperature as efficiently as adults.

The Dolphin also has implements to assist passengers escape if the car is submerged in water.

“This puts them at greater risk of dehydration and heat related illness,” he said.

“Children should not be left alone in vehicles under any circumstances, even with the windows down slightly, a car can heat up to extreme temperatures in a very short time and can become fatal.

“Even in mild weather, cars quickly become too hot for babies or young children.”

Kidsafe Australia reports that 5000 children are locked in cars each year and that at least 10 Australian children have died locked in cars in the last five years or so.

Mother of three Hannah Mansur said the technology was “really clever” and would help lighten the load for busy parents.

“There’s a lot of people talking about the mental load. To me something like this is actually taking an actionable step towards helping relieve it. I think it’s great idea,” she said.

“With three kids we’re outnumbered automatically. My husband and I have to look after one and a half children each while getting out bags and getting the pram ready,” she said.

She said the technology was enough to put BYD on her shopping list.

Christine Erskine, chief executive of Kidsafe NSW, said the technology was “amazing”, though it would take time to trickle through to the majority of cars on the road.

“Obviously you want every new car to be as safe as possible, but there will still be a lot of older cars around,” she said.

“There will be a delay in access to that technology. Younger drivers and various socio economic groups won’t have access to this … some people may never have access to it.

“These are great additional features for safety that everyone should want, but you should still have other strategies – put your purse or keys in the back seat, your handbag, your briefcase, something important so that you don’t forget to check the back seat.”