Safekids promotes driveway safety at Children's Day

At this weekend’s Children’s and Family Fun Day, Safekids Rotorua will be encouraging children to identify a safe ‘waving spot’ at home, where they can stand when a car is pulling into, or leaving, their driveway.

Safekids New Zealand estimates that every two weeks a child is hospitalised with serious injuries received from a vehicle driving on a private driveway in New Zealand. A further five are killed annually, on average, in the same way.

Most children injured in driveway incidents are toddlers, aged about two years old, and when death does not occur, the injuries they receive are often severe.

The driver is usually a parent, family member, friend or close neighbour, and the devastating impact of these events on families and their communities is huge.

One of the simplest things parents can do to keep tamariki safe is to identify a safe spot where they can stand when a car is moving in the driveway.

At Children’s Day, Safekids Rotorua will be giving children the opportunity to paint their own ‘safety rock’ which they can take home and place in their safe waving spot. There is an awesome prize pack up for grabs for children who send in a photo of themselves using their safety rock at home.

Rotorua’s Children’s Day event is being held at the Redwoods from 10am to 3pm on Sunday 4 March.