Children Locked in Vehicles: Implications for Organisational and Community Safety

Abstract

While state motoring clubs around Australia are well known for their motoring advocacy work and membership advantages, roadside assistance for broken down vehicles remains a key activity. The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) alone receives up to 4,000 calls for assistance each day from motorists. The majority of these calls will be associated with vehicle mechanical or electrical issues, but on average around 10 calls a day will be due to a baby, adult person or animal being accidentally locked in a vehicle. These lock-in calls are almost always as a result of an unintentional act on the part of the driver. Typically the keys are given to the child to hold while the driver performs some other task. If the remote locking button has been pressed the locking system secures all closed doors leading to a situation where once the remaining door is closed the security system then completes its locking sequence, preventing the driver from gaining access to the vehicle. At this point the driver realises they have a highly stressful situation unfolding. RACQ research has found that vehicle interior temperatures rise very rapidly and from around 19oC can reach the critical (according to medical authorities) temperature of 40oC in about eight minutes on a typical, clear summer day in Brisbane. Peak cabin temperatures can go on to reach approximately double the ambient temperature. Due to the risk to the health of the baby, adult or animal locked in the vehicle it becomes a matter of urgency that the locked-in person or animal is rescued as soon as possible. RACQ responds to such calls for assistance as a community service. This means that RACQ will assist as a priority any person, regardless of RACQ membership status given the safety risks to the individual or animal locked in the vehicle. Responding to emergency calls of this nature increases the pressure on the RACQ and its staff. From the call centre staff who take the calls and arrange the Club’s response, to the RACQ patrol staff who are despatched to attend the vehicle, there is a coordinated, prioritised approach to assisting the individual or animal locked in the vehicle as quickly as possible.