Risks of Leaving a Child Alone in a Car: Fines & Preventions

Leaving a child alone in a car is a punishable offence in many countries including the UAE. It is prohibited because it can lead to dire consequences. While it sounds like irresponsible behaviour, sometimes parents accidentally leave their child locked in a car.

This guide covers all the major dangers of leaving your child unattended in a vehicle, the fines associated with this act of negligence and tips to prevent such an accident.

Major Risks of Leaving a Child Alone in a Car

Boy sitting alone in the car, playing with the car sound system — Children over five years of age can easily reach for the front seat and start playing with car controls – this can have serious repercussion

Never leave a child alone in a vehicle, not only is this irresponsible, but it can also lead to dangerous consequences. Some major dangers of leaving your child alone in a car include:

Heat stroke
Putting the car in acceleration
Walking out of the car

Fines for Leaving Your Child Alone in a Car in the UAE

Under the UAE’s child rights laws, parents or caretakers who leave their child alone in a car unattended can face jail time of up to 10 years and a hefty fine. Moreover, children who are below the age of 10 cannot sit in the front passenger seat.

In fact, to remind parents about the consequences and fines pertaining to this negligence, Abu Dhabi police runs awareness campaigns on their social media pages. During summers, Abu Dhabi police shares a “Summer Safe” campaign reminding parents or guardians that leaving children unattended in a vehicle is a crime punishable by law.

The said punishment falls under the UAE Child’s Rights Law, also known as Wadeema’s Law. The fine amount is determined by the judge based on the case. The Child’s Rights Law aims to protect the rights of children pertaining to physical, mental and emotional well-being.

How to Prevent the Situation

Mother placing her child in a child car seat — Keep reminders to prevent yourself from forgetting your child in the car

Never leave your child unattended in the vehicle on purpose, even if you have to go to the grocery store for five minutes, take your child along. Leaving your child alone in a car on purpose is plain negligence. On the other hand, though it sounds a little far-fetched, parents can forget their child in the car, owing to busy schedules and increased stress levels. To prevent yourself from leaving your child alone in the car follow these tips:

Always get your kids out of the car, and then worry about taking out other things like grocery bags or luggage out of the car.
Make sure to look in the back and front of your car before you lock it and walk away.
Develop a habit to check the back seat every time you get out of the car, even if you are travelling without a child
Once it’s a habit you will never forget your child alone in the backseat.
Keep a toy or colourful sticky note in your child’s car seat when it’s empty and place it on your car’s dashboard when you place your child in the child seat at the back. This will serve as a reminder that your child is sitting in the child seat when you leave the car.
Keeping important things like your briefcase, purse or cell phone in the back seat is also a good reminder. You will need these things when you reach the final destination and when you reach for them you will remember to take your child out of the car.
Don’t encourage toddlers to play in the car, this will encourage them to fiddle around with car controls that can be dangerous.
Warn your kids to not play in the car all by themselves without any kind of adult supervision.

That is all about the dangers of leaving a child alone in a car. This is an act of negligence and must not be practised for your child’s safety and well-being. Apart from not leaving your child alone in the car, it is important to think about their safety even when you are with them in the car. Here is a list of effective ways to childproof your car.

Keeping your child busy while you are on the move is also important, here is a list of games to keep your child busy in the car.

Therefore, if you drive around with an infant, make sure you place them in a child seat while driving. Here is a list of infant car seats in the UAE. These seats are designed to protect infants. As for travelling with toddlers, you can buy car seats for toddlers here.

Besides, if you are in search of a family-friendly SUV with ample space to seat a mid-sized family along with a child seat, here are some popular options:

Stay tuned to UAE’s top auto blog for more on car DIY solutions, tips for babyproofing your cars, road rules and regulations and other information on the automotive industry.