Don’t leave children inside vehicles

Muscat, Nov 4 - The Royal Oman Police (ROP) has warned against leaving children inside vehicles as that can prove fatal. Citing a study, it said 18 per cent of children are intentionally left behind, while many drivers or parents forget they have left them behind. The ROP said such incidents can lead to disastrous situations in summer as the temperature inside soars fast. In winters despite the mercury levels dropping to 21 degrees Celsius, the temperature inside the vehicle could quickly rise to 60 degrees Celsius. The police have urged drivers and parents to avoid locking the vehicle before making certain all have stepped out. They have cautioned them against leaving children inside the car with the windows closed even for a few minutes. “The temperature in kids’ bodies rises three to five times faster than that of adults. This results in failure of their body organs,” an ROP statement says. Many children have died due to drivers’ negligence in Oman. The last was a four-year-old boy who died of suffocation in a school bus. The police said that in many countries, including the Sultanate, leaving children in cars is a crime punishable with a prison sentence. In some countries, if the parent is the offender, he/she loses the right to paid care of the child. Zainab al Nassri