Can you cook in your car?
You’ve probably seen an egg cooked on the searing-hot pavement during an Australian summer, but a few years ago, we tried to bake an entire meal inside a car.
The sa move team set out to see whether we could fry an egg, cook a pizza and bake a tray of cookies on a car dashboard, during a sizzling summer afternoon.
Check out the video to see if we were successful.
If food cooks, so will you
The fact an egg cooks in just 30 minutes on a dashboard proves the temperature inside a parked car can reach dangerously high levels.
In fact, within 30 minutes of being parked in the sun, the mercury can reach up to 80C inside a car on a 40C day. Children and pets will quickly become dehydrated in these conditions, which can lead to heat stroke.
Never be tempted to leave them unattended in the vehicle even for a short period of time. Leaving windows down makes little difference and the interior can become dangerously hot even when parked in the shade.
Despite the oppressive heat inside a parked vehicle, RAA receives call outs ever year to rescue young children trapped in locked vehicles. Many of these are due to children accidently locking themselves in the car.
RAA Senior Manager of Safety and Infrastructure Charles Mountain says parents shouldn’t let their kids play with their keys.
“Get into the routine every time of checking that you have your keys, phone and any other vital items before getting out of the vehicle,” he says.
“Youngsters can accidently lock themselves inside the vehicle. If you do find yourself in that situation, act quickly and try to remain as calm as possible so you don’t distress your child.”