How Australia tackled kids left in cars

Newly arrived in Israel from Australia, one particular news item has struck a nerve with me. It is the terrible tragedy of young children being left alone in vehicles, who quickly succumb to the effects of heat and die.

There was another death just a few days ago, and there have been three deaths just in July.

As a father of three young children, the youngest of whom is only three months old, with a wife who works and a busy life, I understand only too readily how these terrible tragedies can happen.

Modern family life is often a rush: both parents working, children in school or holiday care, and frequent shuttles to and from various activities.

I have nothing but the utmost sympathy for the families involved. Theirs is a loss that will never heal.

Five years ago, this sort of tragedy was all too common in Australia.
But through a combination of public education, awareness campaigns, and a greater community sense of responsibility, we have managed to significantly reduce the number of such deaths.

Australian research shows that on a typical summer day, the temperature inside a parked car rises to thirty degrees higher than outside.

75% of this temperature rise occurs within five minutes of closing the car, and 90% occurs within fifteen minutes. Opening a car window makes little difference.

This means that on a warm day in Israel or Australia, the temperature inside a parked car reaches about 50 degrees after five minutes, and 57 degrees after fifteen minutes.

With their smaller body size and undeveloped nervous systems, children are especially vulnerable to such high temperatures. Heatstroke and organ failure can set in very quickly. It takes only ten minutes for a child to be in serious danger.

This data provided the foundation for a broad public campaign in Australia that educated people about the dangers of leaving children in vehicles.

Until that time, parents had often thought it safe to leave children locked in cars whilst they ran into the shops.

No longer. Today, the message is clear that children should not be left alone in a vehicle for even the shortest periods.

Coupled with this, parents of some victims chose to speak out about their experiences. These heart-wrenching tales had a huge impact in raising awareness.

Legislation was introduced making it a criminal offence to leave a child unattended in a vehicle.

Municipal governments supported these efforts, with signs posted in car parks and bumper stickers reminding people to take their children with them.

These efforts have led to a transformation in community attitudes.

Nowadays in Australia, if a child is seen alone in a vehicle on a hot day the immediate response of passers-by is to call for help — usually the emergency services or a motoring group.

In Queensland last year, there were around 1,500 calls reporting children locked in stationary vehicles. In Victoria the figure was about 900. In past years, Australians would have minded their own business and walked on by. These days, such prompt action saves children’s lives.

I visited Beterem, the National Centre for Children’s Safety and Health here in Israel last week.

Beterem is staffed by professional, committed individuals doing excellent work in reducing preventable injuries amongst children, including in this area. They are partnering with Kidsafe Australia and other international counterparts to find out what works and what doesn’t.

We in Australia certainly do not have all the answers. But perhaps in this area we can both learn from each other — to the enduring benefit of all our children.

The writer is the Australian ambassador to Israel.