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Centre for Road Safety

  1. NSW Centre for Road Safety
  2. Campaigns
  3. They're counting on you
  4. Driveway safety

Driveway safety

Watch Scott Cam in our driveway safety video to find out how you can avoid a driveway tragedy.

Read a transcript.

Simple steps can make all the difference

 

Step 1 SUPERVISE

When children are around driveways, they should be actively supervised by an adult who is holding their hand. Ensure that young children are placed securely in a vehicle before moving it.

Step 2 SEPARATE

Treat the driveway like a road. Do not let children use the driveway as a play area.
Separate children’s play spaces from garages and driveways. Home design features can help, including fences, high handles on garage doors and self-closing doors or gates.

Step 3 SEE

All vehicles have blind spots. While reversing sensors and cameras can assist with reducing blind spots, it can be difficult to notice a small child until it is too late. It is important not to become complacent. Drivers should get into the habit of walking around their vehicle before starting it, especially when leaving an area where a young child could be present.

They're counting on you

On average, more than five children are killed and 47 seriously injured in driveways each year across Australia. In NSW, six children have been killed and 15 seriously injured in driveways since January 2013.

We have joined Scott Cam and the Georgina Josephine Foundation in this campaign, reminding parents and carers that young children are counting on you when it comes to driveway safety. The campaign provides sensible driveway safety advice to parents, carers and drivers. This includes tips on home design to reduce the risk of driveway hazards.

We all have a role to play

Tragic crashes can happen so quickly and are life shattering. Whether you’re a driveway user or owner, this campaign highlights that we all have a role to play when it comes to driveway safety.

Children are counting on you to supervise them near vehicles, separate play areas from driveways and see where they are at all times.

Objectives

  • To raise awareness of the safety risks that driveway environments pose to young children
  • To facilitate use of strategies and countermeasures to help prevent driveway safety incidents
  • To discourage the use of driveways as play areas

 

Audience

Parents, grandparents and carers of young children aged up to 5, as well as broader NSW community.

Delivery

Our campaign features popular television personality Scott Cam (pictured with Peter and Emma Cockburn) and the Georgina Josephine Foundation, which was set up in memory of Peter and Emma Cockburn’s 15-month-old daughter, who died in a driveway crash in April 2011. The campaign includes:

  • TV advertising
  • Online advertising
  • Radio advertising
  • YouTube educational video
 

The educational video is promoted to parents in Georgina Josephine Foundation workshops. The foundation aims to reduce driveway deaths and injuries and develop support services for affected families. The video is also be promoted through:

  • Kids and Traffic, the Early Childhood Road Safety Education Program at Macquarie University, which reaches out to families and more than 3500 early childhood services in NSW
  • The Safety Town website, our road safety education resource for primary school students, teachers and families