Reminder not to leave kids locked in vehicles

[webfact]

Reminder not to leave kids locked in vehicles

By THE NATION

 

File photo

 

AT THE START of the new semester, adults should be mindful of the tragedies that befell a number of young children who were forgotten and left inside locked vehicles in recent years.

 

Between 2014 and 2018, five children died because adults forgot they were still inside a vehicle and locked it, leaving them trapped and alone. 

 

Four of them died in school buses, while the other child succumbed inside a private car.

 

“All these young victims had been left inside the locked vehicles for more than six hours,” Disease Control Department director-general Dr Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai said yesterday in a bid to persuade adults to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies. 

 

Tests by Ramathibodi Hospital’s Child Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Centre suggest that children left inside a locked vehicle under the scorching sun do not perish because they run out of oxygen, he said. 

 

In such circumstances, the temperature inside the vehicle rises significantly and reaches an unbearable level within just five minutes, he said, adding that bodily functions falter within 10 minutes and, within half an hour, children’s blood turns acidic, pushing them into shock and causing their brains to swell. 

 

Soon after, a child will stop breathing and it is this sequence of events that leads to death, rather than a lack of oxygen, he explained. 

 

“So, I would like to strongly advise parents, teachers and school-bus drivers to acutely remember the danger of leaving children inside locked vehicles and to take the following precautions: 

 

“First, they must count the number of children going into and leaving the vehicle under their supervision. 

 

“Second, they must look around the vehicle before locking it. 

 

“Third, they must not be complacent. Don’t think they can leave children inside a locked vehicle alone for [even] a short while,” Suwannachai said.

He said adults must be particularly careful if children under their care are still of kindergarten or nursery age. 

 

His department discovered that of 106 children known to have been left behind inside locked vehicles between 2014 and 2018, five of them had died as a result. 

 

The deceased were all between three and six years old, he said.

 

Suwannachai said teachers and parents should also teach young children how to call for help if they find themselves left inside a locked vehicle. “Teach them how to honk [the vehicle’s horn],” he added. 

 

He also emphasised that if anyone notices that a child has been left inside a locked vehicle, they should immediately look for the parents or guardians.

 

“The door must be opened quickly. If you can’t find the car owner very quickly, make sure you ask people around you to help the child,” he said.

 

He added that people could also call Hotline 1669 or 1422 for help.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30369322

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-14

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[mok199]

I truley hope each and every van driver is given this memo...

[wisperone]

Finally a notice that makes sense. Even parents minds can be so pre-occupied sometimes that they forget all about their kids in the back of the car.

[mikebell]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

the tragedies that befell a number of young children who were forgotten

Thai men often forget their children even before they are born.

[grumbleweed]

I'm worried that people who need this sort of reminder are actually allowed near a vehicle in the first place, let alone to breed

[Lupatria]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Reminder not to leave kids locked in vehicles

If this is a well-intended appeal to use common sense, I'm not sure it will work here????

[Artisi]

49 minutes ago, mikebell said:

Thai men often forget their children even before they are born.

Or shortly thereafter.... 

[Artisi]

"the door must be opened quickly" - wow, just wow - what an absolute mind shattering discovery. 

They forgot to add, if the door can't be opened quickly - a large brick thru' the window seems to work wonders. 

[Wiggy]

57 minutes ago, wisperone said:

Finally a notice that makes sense. Even parents minds can be so pre-occupied sometimes that they forget all about their kids in the back of the car.

Then they shouldn't be parents.

[Stargeezr]

Just like anything else some people in the world will put the blame on anything, but themselves.

  Stupid forgetful parents do forget many things, including their children. Happens all over the

world!!

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, mok199 said:

I truley hope each and every van driver is given this memo...

And then encouraged to actually read & remember to carry it out... 

[stanleycoin]

Maybe this why most of the Thai's are half baked. 

[poohy]

When the government has to issue such warnings, i would seriously worry about the IQ of the breeding pool

It really is No wonder why they eat with spoons and forks, they would have their eyes out with a knife!

[CGW]

Not an issue where I live, most of the kids go to school four up on noisy motorbikes without head protection, there the lucky ones - the rest are walking in the baking sun, or hanging off the back of a "old Pick up truck", the "government" prefers to buy "toys for the Boys" rather than provide safe transportation!

[Artisi]

16 hours ago, CGW said:

Not an issue where I live, most of the kids go to school four up on noisy motorbikes without head protection, there the lucky ones - the rest are walking in the baking sun, or hanging off the back of a "old Pick up truck", the "government" prefers to buy "toys for the Boys" rather than provide safe transportation!

The boys have to have their fun, helps them get a hard on - plus kids don't matter, parents can always have another one.... 

[mikebell]

On 5/14/2019 at 7:31 AM, Artisi said:

Or shortly thereafter.... 

They are allergic to Morning Sickness.