The car door suddenly locks! What if a child is trapped in a car in the summer?

Every year, there are troubles in various places where the key is left behind in the car and the car is locked from the inside.

In some months, more than 100 children were trapped in a month, and the JAF = Japan Automobile Federation said, "In the summer, the temperature inside the closed car rises in a short time, and there is a risk of life-threatening. We are calling attention as.

Door lock troubles one after another every year

According to JAF, there were about 130,000 cases of problems in the car where the keys were left behind and the doors were locked from the inside last year, and about 150,000 cases in the previous year.

Of these, 115 cases of children trapped inside were confirmed in the month of August alone, and there were cases where the window glass was broken and rescued due to urgency. ..

It is said that the cause of "confinement" is erroneous operation or malfunction of a key with a remote control function that can be opened and closed by remote control.

According to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, there are cases where children touch the buttons of the keys left in the car to lock them, and in the case of "smart keys", which have become mainstream in recent years, the remaining battery level is low. It is possible that the car will not recognize that there is a key in the car when the number is reduced, and the door will be locked automatically or the key will pick up other radio waves and cause a malfunction and be locked.

It is known that the temperature inside a closed car in the summer rises to 40 degrees or more in a short time, and according to the Tokyo Fire Department, in fact, in Tokyo, between June and September last year, under 5 years old There were five cases in which the child was trapped and was transported by ambulance on suspicion of heat stroke.

JAF cautions that "there is a risk of life-threatening in the summer, and we want you to take your key with you when you leave the car and stop leaving your child in the car even for a short time."

Door suddenly locks Child trapped mother experience

Last month, a woman living in Aichi experienced a car door suddenly locked and her one-year-old eldest son trapped inside.

On that day, in order to pick up my eldest daughter at the kindergarten, I put the key of the car with the remote control function in the driver's seat, put the eldest son on the child seat in the back seat, and closed the door from the outside.

I went to the driver's seat and tried to open the door, but it was already locked.

A bag containing a mobile phone and a key to the house is also in the car.

The woman says she panicked.

"The moment I closed it, my heart was so shocked that my consciousness flew away, and I was so panicked that I felt like what I was doing and why it happened. The

woman happened to ask a courier to rent a cell phone and contact her mother who lives nearby.

He asked me to bring my home key, opened the door with the spare key of the car in the house, and about 20 minutes later, I picked up my eldest son who was crying.

He doesn't know why it was locked, and he says he always wears a waist pouch when he goes out and keeps his keys with him.

The woman said, "I think I managed to do it because it was a chilly day, but I wondered what happened because the temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius the next day. I thought about breaking the car window if I was up on a hot day under the scorching sun. I think. "

The experimental result of the sudden rise in the temperature inside the car

How much will the temperature inside the closed car rise in the summer?

At JAF, we experimented with how the temperature inside a closed car with the engine stopped rises at a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius.

According to it, the temperature inside the car, which was 25 degrees, rose by 10 degrees after 5 minutes.

Then, in less than 30 minutes, it rose to 40 degrees and reached nearly 50 degrees in an hour.

In addition, in an experiment using the "heat index" that indicates the risk of heat stroke, 10 minutes after turning off the air conditioner, the number of people suffering from heat stroke increased rapidly to the level of "strict caution".

After 15 minutes, we reached the most dangerous "danger" level.

It took only 15 minutes for heat stroke to endanger life.

Why rock?

Behind the convenience

There are two keys with remote control function introduced in many cars, one that can be locked and unlocked by button operation, and the other is a "smart key" that can be opened by just touching the door lever if you have the key. It can be classified into.

In particular, "smart keys" have become mainstream in recent years because of their convenience because they constantly emit weak radio waves and are detected by cars.

Mitsuhiro Kunisawa, a car critic who is familiar with car structures and troubles, says that while both can save the trouble of inserting and removing keys, it is necessary to be aware of the possibility of "confinement".

Mr. Kunisawa points out "confinement" that occurs due to operational mistakes or carelessness.

There are cases where the button of the key left in the car is pushed by some momentum and the door is locked, and there are cases where when loading luggage in the trunk, the key is also closed while it is inside. is.

Regarding "smart keys", many cars have a safety function that does not lock if there is a key in the car, but if the radio wave is blocked by an aluminum seat or pouch or the battery level of the key runs out, It means that there is a possibility that the key will be locked without being recognized if there is a key in the car.

Also, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, if there is a device or facility that emits another radio wave near the smart key, it may cause radio wave interference and lock it in rare cases.

Mr. Kunisawa says, "These keys are very convenient and prevent theft, but you need to understand and use them properly, including maintenance. It is also important to read the instruction manual again."

What measures are needed to protect the lives of children ...

How can I prevent the car from being locked due to misplaced keys?

Yuu Kurihara of the JAF Tokyo branch says, "When you go out of the car, don't put the key in your bag or give it to your child, and keep your skin on your skin."

Then, in the unlikely event that the child is trapped inside, contact the police, fire department, or JAF, and if something goes wrong with the child, ask a nearby person for help and consider breaking the window if there is an escape hammer. I want you to do it.

Mr. Kurihara said, "In the heat of the heat, the temperature inside the car rises to a life-threatening level in a short time. To protect the lives of children, leaving them in the car even for a short time is I want you to stop. "