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Abstract
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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 [1]. Peak cabin temperatures can go on to reach approximately double the ambient temperature [1].
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.
In 2011, RACQ received 2,434 calls (average of 6.67 calls per day) related to babies or children locked in cars. October and March had the highest average number of calls per day, while January and November had slightly lower averages.
While the total number of baby/child locked in car calls represent only 0.2% of the total number of calls for assistance RACQ receives each year, the potential risk to the individuals locked in the vehicles means that these calls require immediate priority response....
[1] Manning R., Ewing J. Temperature in Cars Survey. February 2009. Brisbane: RACQ. Viewed 29 April 2013:
(http:// www.racq.com.au/data/assets/pdf_file/0007/48796/09_ Temperature_in_Cars.pdf)
KW: Hyperthermia in automobiles
Language: en |