Victoria’s worst suburbs for kids locked in hot cars
The worst suburbs for children being locked in hot cars have been revealed as emergency services say they received about six calls a day about the dangerous offending in Victoria last summer. See the list.
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The worst suburbs for children being locked in hot cars have been revealed.
It comes as emergency services say they received about six calls a day about the dangerous offending in Victoria last summer.
Authorities made another desperate plea to parents on Tuesday night to never leave children unattended in vehicles.
TODDLER RESCUED FROM HOT CAR DURING SUMMER SCORCHER
The worst suburbs for the dangerous offending included Frankston, Pakenham and Preston.
Regional hot spots Ballarat and Bendigo were also among the top 10 places for emergency call outs.
The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority recorded 564 cases of children needing to be rescued from hot cars last summer.
And almost 200 triple-0 calls were made in the month of January alone — the fourth hottest January on record.
The stats were revealed as the hot weather continues around the state during a week-long heatwave.
An extreme heat warning has been issued for the Mallee, North Central, North East, Northern Country and Wimmera regions.
Despite the repeated warnings about leaving children in hot cars, the Herald Sun on Tuesday revealed only 54 offences were recorded by Victoria Police in the past 12 months.
Of those cases, 47 resulted in arrests or summons, three were let off with a warning and four remained unsolved.
The majority of these recorded offences took place in the north west or southern metro region between September 2017 and October 2018.
Those found guilty of leaving a child unattended face up to six months’ jail and or almost $4000 in fines. On Monday a toddler had to be rescued from a car in a Derrimut shopping centre. Firefighters forced their way into the car to save the 20-month-old boy about 11am when the outside temperature was 30C.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said no offence had occurred as the child had been left in the car “accidentally” with the airconditioning on.
The state government slammed the negligent practice after at least five children were found trapped in cars on the hottest summer day in almost five years on January 4.
The temperature inside a vehicle can more than double within minutes in the heat.
TRAPPED IN THE HEAT
Callouts during 2017/18
■ Frankston 14
■ Preston 11
■ Pakenham 10
■ Berwick 9
■ Dandenong 8
■ Ballarat 7
■ Bendigo 7
■ Cranbourne 7