Car Keys and Kids
A recipe for disaster
1 August 2007
Every busy parent knows that loading the children in the car can be a complicated process. Getting them all belted in properly can often result in tantrums and trauma and the temptation to give them something to distract them is huge. But the AA is advising parents not to fall into the trap of letting the children play with the car keys as this can easily result in them being locked in the car alone.
In 2006 the AA rescued over 1500 children who had accidentally been locked in cars – the equivalent of 4 children a day. The first three months of 2007 alone saw over 400 children rescued. Locking a child in a car is traumatic for both the child and parent – and in hot weather can be extremely dangerous.
Adam Ashmore, AA Patrol of the Year, said "With central locking systems on cars it is very easy for a child to become locked in a car with the car keys. We attend many incidents where we find a distraught parent and child and our main priority is to get the child out safely and quickly."
"We would advise parents to do all they can to avoid this happening. The easiest way is to always keep you car keys with you so if the car does lock accidentally you are able to quickly unlock it. Never give the keys to a child to play with while you load up the car. It is such an easy situation to avoid and just takes a little thought to be aware of where your keys are at all times."
Advice to parents
- Keep your car keys with you at all times
- Never give your children the keys to play with in the car
- Do not close all the doors until you are sure your have the keys with you
- Leave a window open so that if central locking is activated you can still gain entry to the vehicle
- Keep spare keys at home
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1 August 2007