Child safety drama: toddler joins in the car!

Child safety drama: toddler joins in the car!

St. Veit/Glan, Österreich - What happens if a child locks a vehicle in no time at summer temperatures with the car key? This is exactly what happened in St. Veit/Glan on July 16 at 6:23 p.m. when a toddler was locked up in a car at about 25 degrees Celsius. The incident caused excitement and quick reactions, not only with the family, but also with the fire brigade and police.

The mother and grandmother of the little boy quickly noticed that the child had locked himself in the vehicle in the child seat, with the key in the vehicle. Originally, the grandmother had given her grandson the key to playing, but when the car door closed, the unfortunate situation occurred. While the child laughed and reacted to speech, the key fell under the seat and the car could no longer be opened. The alarmed volunteer fire brigade St. Veit/Glan quickly set off.

rescue campaigns and support

The fire brigade parked a vehicle on site so that it threw shadows on the pinched car to protect the child from overheating. While several attempts to open the vehicle without damage failed, the police were sent to the grandmother at the same time to get a replacement key. The technicians of the ÖAMTC, which were called to support, could not open the car.

The fire brigade in the meantime maintained contact with the child, which was in good physical condition. But when the child began to sweat, the police finally arrived with the replacement key. In this way, the toddler could be freed - lucky for everyone involved.

a little consolation for the child

At the end of the mission, the boy received a plush toy from the fire brigade, which should probably also help to keep this adventure in good memory. Such an incident should not only stimulate caution, but also create awareness of how important the correct securing of children in the car is. In Germany, for example, 87 percent of children are secured in urban areas, but only 35 percent are strapped correctly in the children's retention system. This shows that there is still room for improvement.

The legal regulations regarding child seats are clear: children up to the age of twelve, which are less than 150 cm, must be secured in a suitable child seat in the car. Even if the boy was properly secured in the child seat in this situation, every incident can serve to teach and underline the importance of child safety in the car. Further information on the safe transportation of children in the car can be found in the brochure of the Federal Institute for Roads.