On average, 5 New Zealand children a year die from being run over in private driveways.
Often the driver is a relative, or a friend of the family. Even when a child survives the accident, the injuries can affect them for life. The effects on a family can be devastating.
With summer approaching, kids spend more time outside – so there’s a greater risk of driveway accidents.
This month Safekids, the national child-injury prevention service which is part of Starship Children’s Health, is launching a campaign to make people more aware of the dangers that small children face around cars.
Supervision is at the top of the list – always check where children are before moving a vehicle and supervise them when visitors are arriving or leaving.
The layout of your property also matters. Is there a separate fenced area for children to play in outdoors? If there isn’t, a safety gate or barrier can stop a toddler slipping outside when your back is turned. We’re testing these products later this year – and we’ll publish our results when they’re available.
As well, the design of some vehicles may make it hard to spot a small child: models with a small back window and a high rear have a large blind zone behind the rear bumper (see below).
A reversing camera mounted at the rear of your car, with a display screen on or near the windscreen, can allow you to see what’s there. When they’re installed, used and maintained correctly these cameras can be a good way to help prevent children being run over in driveways. We’ve just tested 13 reversing cameras – see our report.
Blind spots
The Australian motoring organisation NRMA (National Roads and Motorists Association) has developed a “reversing visibility” index and “car blind spot” ratings that measure how well you can see out of the back of many late-model cars. You can check tables that show your car’s reversing visibility and its blind spot rating on the NRMA website.
More information
- Safekids: www.safekids.org.nz
- NRMA tables: www.nrma.com.au
More from consumer.org.nz
- Car reversing aids - our test of 13 reversing cameras
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