Almost 600 kids in hot cars saved

Almost 600 children have had to be rescued from boiling hot parked cars this year — the most since 2013.

The Automobile Association says it has also had to rescue 494 pets from January through until September.

VetCare Grey Lynn veterinarian Shalsee Vaigeant believes the numbers are far higher.

“Those were calls that were made to AA to come out and unlock or help them get them out, that isn’t animals that owners have come back and found that were struggling, it isn’t people who’ve just forgot or people who did leave the windows down and were able to get back in,” she says.

“So that’s actually not the real number, it’s going to be high.”

NZH Focus spent just over six minutes talking to Vaigeant amid steadily rising temperatures in a parked car with the windows up and air conditioning turned off.

The temperature outside was 26C; in the car it rose to 37C in that time.

Vaigeant says three minutes is too long for children or pets to be left in a locked or closed parked car.

She says it’s even dangerous with the windows down.

“Where we’re seated, in between other vehicles and a building wall . . . even with these windows down, there would be no airflow and that temperature is going to get into the high 30s,” Vaigeant says.

“If you’ve walked out and thought, ‘Wow, it’s warm,’ you should probably consider not even bringing your pets in the car.”

Vaigeant thinks there has to be a drastic cultural shift. People need to think about the heat before they park to avoid putting their pets and children at risk.