The NRMA is reminding parents of the dangers of leaving children and pets unattended in cars, as the busiest part of the summer holiday period approaches.

Recent incidents of children being left in vehicles include the story of a the 15-month-old boy who was in the back seat of the family car in Shepperton, when the vehicle was stolen.

The thief left the baby in a cardboard box in the carpark before driving off.

On a typical summer day in Australia, the temperature inside a parked car can be more than 30°C hotter than the outside temperature. Even on a mild day, the temperature inside a parked car can become dangerous very quickly, placing children at immediate risk of heatstroke, dehydration and in extreme cases, death.

Reassuringly, calls to rescue children and pets locked in cars have steadily decreased over the last few years. In the last 12 months, NRMA patrols have rescued more than 600 children from vehicles compared to almost 1200 in 2019.

The majority of these cases were unintentional with parents locking their keys along with their children in the car.

NRMA Patrols are highly trained to get into cars with children locked inside, with many able to have a car unlocked in a few short minutes.

NRMA road safety expert Dimitra Vlahomitros said it was pleasing to see a steady decline in the number of children and pets rescued from locked cars.

“It’s important parents and carers know how easily children and pets can be locked in a car – all it takes is a moment of inattention to lose track of your keys,” she said.

“It’s often when people are juggling multiple bags and children where things go wrong, like after a family beach day or Christmas shopping outing. An easy way to avoid unintentionally locking the car is by keeping your keys in your pocket and never giving them to children as a toy.”

NRMA patrol Tony Tamine said the NRMA received hundreds of calls a year from frantic parents who have inadvertently locked their children in the car.

“When we receive a call that a child is locked in a car, it becomes a priority job and is moved to the top of our list,” Mr Tamine said.

“As patrols, we train specifically for these situations to get children and pets out of cars as quickly and calmly as possible. In many instances, the parents are more stressed than the child locked in the car.

“If you see a child unattended in a car and cannot locate the parents, call triple-zero and await instructions. If the child or pet is clearly distressed, and you have no time to wait for the police or an NRMA patrol, find a way to safely break a window.”