With colder weather right around the corner, the shorter days and darker evenings can increases the risk of incidents happening around the driveway. As an area of the home that kids will often play around, parents need to be especially safety-conscious and proactive to protect their children.
When talking about driveway safety, it doesn’t just mean your own – whether it’s your family, friends or neighbours’ driveway, they can all pose a threat to your child’s safety. Most incidents around this area of your home occur because drivers are unaware that children are close to their vehicles, and most of those driving happen to be family or friends.
So we’ve pulled together some important car safety tips for you and your kids, and a driveway safety checklist that you can use to reduce the risk of any incidents occurring.
Car and Driveway Safety Tips
Always Check Your Car and the Driveway for Kids First
For busy parents, time is of the essence, so you’ll usually find yourself in a hurry. Despite this, you should always take a 360-degree walk all the way around your vehicle before driving off to make sure that your kids haven’t followed you out the door and are playing behind or to the side of your car.
While you’re walking around your vehicle, check for any children or potential items – toys, bikes or even your pets that could distract your children. It’s essential that you do this before starting the engine, as your child could try to sneak past you to get in the car, making it even more dangerous if the engine is already running.
When family and friends come over to visit, vehicles are constantly moving around. Designate a safe area or spot for children to wait when nearby vehicles are about to move and make sure the drivers can see them. Nominate an adult to constantly supervise the children in an allocated safe area where they can wait while the cars move in and out.
Limit Play in Your Driveway Every Day
Try to limit your kids from playing in the driveway by allocating a safe space away from parked or moving cars. By teaching your children to only play in the designated zones, you establish your driveway as a child and toy-free area.
Help your kids by working with them to pick up loose items like their bikes, toys, skipping rope, chalk and reminding them to put them back away in their allocated space when they have finished playing with them.
Talk to them about car and driveway safety – that playing around, behind or in front of vehicles is dangerous, and incidents can easily happen.
Lend a Hand to Your Little Ones
Always supervise your children as they can move very quickly and often without warning. Help them by holding their hands when they’re getting in and out of the car or if you happen to be near any moving or parked vehicles – especially in parking lots, driveways or on the footpath.
Whenever you’re helping them around cars, it is a great opportunity to remind them of your driveway safety rules, gently explaining why it’s extremely important to stop and wait for instructions from an adult.
Slow and Steady is the Winner
When driving in or out of your driveway, drive slowly. Where possible drive forwards out of the driveway. Check for children as you enter, or make sure you can see them as you leave, or that you have left them in a safe area. Maintaining a slower speed allows you to stop in an emergency quicker and helps avoid or limit the potential damage.
Here’s a helpful checklist that you can tick off to help keep your kids safe around the driveway.
Driveway Safety Checklist
- Check, Check and Check again - before setting off on your journey, ensure that you know exactly where your children are, e.g. in their room, lounge, kitchen or backyard before you get into the vehicle.
- When leaving your home, make sure that you’ve securely shut the door so that your kids can’t chase after you. Walk around your vehicle to ensure that your children are not hiding behind or beside it.
- Drive forwards out of the driveway where possible.
- Constantly check your blind spots before going forward or reversing, as most incidents occur when the car moves in reverse. Install a rear view camera if your vehicle does not already have one. Remember a camera or sensor does not show things directly beneath the vehicle or prevent driveway incidents from happening.
- When reversing your car, turn your radio down or off and roll the windows down so that you can listen out for any unexpected noises.
- If only you and your child are present and you need to move your car, get them to join you. It’s better physically seeing that they’re next to you rather than hoping they’ve listened to your instructions.
- If you find that your driveway is close to your kids’ play area, build a fence around it to separate them. If you can’t add a fence, establish your driveway as a no-play zone.
- Whenever you and your children are around vehicles, make it a habit to always hold your child’s hand firmly.
- Educate your children on the dangers of moving vehicles and remind them that just because they can see the driver, doesn’t necessarily mean that the driver can see them.
- If you need to leave your vehicle at any time, make sure the handbrake is activated and the vehicle is switched off.
If you’re looking for more information on how to keep your children safe outdoors, check out Plunket’s outdoor safety tips to help you reduce the risk of accidents before they happen.
