The Automobile Association is asking parents and pet owners to take greater care after it attended 1,677 emergency lockouts involving children and animals.
AA Roadservice National Manager, John Healy, says the AA received 918 calls to help rescue children and 759 calls to rescue pets in the twelve months to 30 November 2009, an average of 77 and 63 per month respectively.
“While these emergency lockouts are only a small fraction of the AA’s total roadside assistance calls, the high number of them is nevertheless very concerning. The temperature inside a vehicle with no ventilation can rise rapidly, and it doesn’t take long before children and pets suffer the effects of heat exhaustion, with its potentially fatal consequences.”
“The AA immediately prioritises any calls involving children or pets locked inside a vehicle, and if the situation is deemed to be serious, we also notify the Fire Service in case there is a delay in our arrival. Once our Roadservice Officers arrive they can quickly gain access to most vehicles, however some modern European cars have a deadlocking system which can require us to smash a window.”
The AA advises parents and caregivers to ensure they keep their keys on them when they get out of their vehicle and to never let their children play with the keys while they’re inside the vehicle.
“Children are often secured into their car seats then given the keys to play with – the children accidentally lock the parents out and then cannot open the doors. Parents also get distracted and use the central locking system on the driver’s door to lock the vehicle, while the keys and children are still inside. Children have also been known to start vehicles and set them in motion, so parents are reminded not to let their children play around or inside vehicles.”
“Summer is here and the days are getting warmer, so it’s timely to remind parents not to get distracted and to keep hold of their keys when entering or exiting their vehicles, especially if children and pets are inside,” says Mr Healy.
ends
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