In October, the BIC was invited to participate and present at a United Nations Working Group (UN IWG) addressing Children Left in Vehicles (CLIV). These are the working groups that go on to set the UN ECE (European) Regulations and Global Technical Regulations (GTRs).

Held in Brisbane, the working group welcomed delegates from across the globe to discuss solutions to mitigate the risk of children being left in vehicles, specifically buses, which have sadly resulted in injuries and fatalities.

Welcoming the opportunity to share solutions already used in Australia as far back as 2013, the BIC presented current ‘check button at rear of bus’ solution/countermeasure used throughout Australia, and mandated on school buses in WA and more recently NSW. It was reassuring that the same principle system is used in other countries, such as South Korea, Japan and some states in the USA.

The outcome of the workshop was a recommendation that regulation is required to provide countermeasures for kids being left in vehicles, with a focus on set regulation for buses. The final regulation will be determined in the next phase of the regulation development; current practices in Australia are now well considered as a contributing to the outcomes.

A special thanks to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts for this opportunity and for hosting the working group.