The State Government and Kidsafe are working together to increase parents’ and carers’ awareness of the dangers of leaving children in parked cars with the No Exceptions, No Excuses campaign.
Despite recent heat warnings, severe penalties and record-breaking summer temperatures, children are still being left unattended in parked cars, putting them at risk of serious heat-related injury or death, a government spokesperson said.
Ambulance Victoria has revealed that paramedics were called to 225 cases of children left in cars across the state during December 2015 – up from 161 the year before.
On a typical Australian summer day, the inside of a parked car can be 20 to 30 degrees hotter than outside.
There is no safe period of time to leave a child alone in a car.
In Victoria, it is against the law to leave children unattended in a car
Parents or carers could face fines of nearly $3700 or up to six months’ jail, or both.
