Hi-tech keys locking kids in cars, NRMA rescues more than 2000 children over past 12 months

WHATEVER you do: don’t give your remote control car key to kids to keep them busy while you pack the boot.

JOSHUA DOWLING

2 min read

November 1, 2017 - 11:59PM

News Corp Australia Network

Babies are inadvertently being locked in cars due to hi-tech car keys, says the NRMA. Picture: iStock.

NRMA roadside mechanics rescued more than 2000 children from unattended vehicles over the past 12 months because hi-tech keys are inadvertently locking cars.

Parents trying to keep their kids happy while loading shopping into the boot give the keys to toddlers to play with, only to have the doors lock.

“It is important to note that most of these instances occur accidentally when mum or dad will strap their child in their car seat, leave them to play with the car keys while they are loading the boot with groceries, or closing up the car for their journey,” said NRMA executive general manager of motoring services, Samantha Taranto.

“Often, our patrols find parents to be more distressed when we arrive at the scene than the children.”

Whatever you do, don’t give kids your car keys to keep them occupied while you load the boot. Picture: iStock

The NRMA says there are also still cases where drivers intentionally leave young children unattended in vehicles because they are unaware of the dangerously high temperatures that cabins can reach — and are unaware of the penalties.

In NSW responsible adults leaving kids in unattended cars risk being fined up to $22,000, in Queensland the penalty is up to three years in prison, in Victoria there is a risk of three months in jail.

West Australia has the harshest punishment: a fine of up to $36,000 and up to three years imprisonment.

According to the latest figures from NRMA motoring services, there were 2157 babies retrieved from unattended vehicles in NSW in the 12 months to September 2017, in addition to more than 1600 pets rescued from cars over the same period.

In summer the temperatures inside cars can reach 80 degrees Celsius.

In most states in Australia there is no specific traffic fine for the offence, but police can charge responsible adults under the child protection act.

In Queensland, the penalty for leaving kids in unattended cars is up to three years in prison. Picture: Peter Cronin.

According to NSW law, it is an offence for a person to leave “any child or young person in the person’s care in a motor vehicle without proper supervision for such period or in such circumstances that (a) the child or young person becomes or is likely to become emotionally distressed, or (b) the child’s or young person’s health becomes or is likely to become permanently or temporarily impaired.”

Meanwhile, the NRMA survey of 1.2 million breakdowns in the 12 months to September 2017 showed the most common roadside call outs are for people needing to jump start or replace a dead battery (312,000, or 25 per cent of all calls) ahead of flat tyres (133,000, or 11 per cent of all calls).

Drivers locking their keys in the car accounted for more than 61,000 or 5 per cent of all calls for help.

The NRMA receives on average two calls every minute of the day. The road service provider said the average waiting time for a service vehicle to arrive to a broken down car was 35 minutes; 90 per cent of vehicles didn’t need to be towed to a repairer.