The State Coroner has suggested car seat restraint systems be reviewed following an investigation into the death of a 22-month-old Kyneton boy in 2015.
Last week Judge Sara Hinchey delivered her findings regarding Noah Zunde’s death in February 2015.
The judge affirmed that Noah died “from heat stroke, after he was inadvertently left in the family motor vehicle by his mother”.
Judge Hinchey stated her “sincerest sympathy to Noah’s family and loved ones,” after declaring that his “tragic death was however, clearly preventable.”
The judge endorsed associate professor and memory expert Matthew Mundy’s evidence that “engineering controls are the best option to ensure that a child sitting quietly in their child restraint, is not forgotten by their parent or carer,” as Noah was.
“There are no current proposals to regulate and mandate rear seat reminders for vehicles, either in Australia or internationally,” Judge Hinchey said she was advised after inquiring with the Commonwealth government.
Judge Hinchey therefore recommended Standards Australia determine “whether the introduction of hard-wired safety features in a child restraint will deliver an overall benefit to the Australian community”.
“If concluded that these features would be beneficial” she recommended the standards be modified “to ensure that hard-wired safety features are introduced where appropriate”.
The judge also recommended “that the Department of Education and Training expand its current awareness campaign related to children being left in motor vehicles to include circumstances where a child is inadvertently left in a motor vehicle”.
A fact sheet and/or risk assessment tool for addressing the physiology and neuroscience of the human memory was also recommended.
