Abu Dhabi: Leaving children unattended in a vehicle is a crime punishable by law, Abu Dhabi Police have warned as the mercury soars during the summer months.
Hot car deaths — which occurs typically when a young child is left unattended in a vehicle and is unable to leave, while internal temperatures rise to unbearable levels — have previously been reported in the UAE, as in many other countries. Abu Dhabi Police are aiming to prevent such mishaps as part of their ‘Safe Summer’ campaign.
Last Thursday, Abu Dhabi Police released a video clip, showing a parent leaving a young child behind in a locked car as he is headed to a store. “Leaving children alone in a vehicle endangers their lives and it is a crime punishable by law. Any person proven to be negligent in such matter will face legal action,” Abu Dhabi Police have warned.
Risks to children
Even in cases where the vehicle is not locked, children may end up trapped inside if they tamper with the controls or the locks. Rising internal temperatures can then cause organ damage due to heatstroke or even death by suffocation, police cautioned. Studies have shown that temperatures inside a locked vehicle can rise to fatal levels. Temperatures inside a closed vehicle can rise 25 degrees Celsius higher than external temperatures within a matter of minutes.
Children may also endanger themselves if they play with the transmission and or other controls in a vehicle, which can result in a traffic accident, the authorities warned.
In UAE, any act of negligence to a child or endangering a child’s life is punishable under Federal Law No 3 of 2016 on Child Rights, which is also known as Wadeema’s Law. The law penalises neglect of children in any manner by handing a jail term to the offender and also imposing fines of up to Dh1 million on him or her.
